The Path of True Love
by Jenny11
Summary: Logan's back, but he still see's Marie as a kid. Will the joining of a certain Cajun change things? And to complicate matters further, Marie's head is about to get a little more crowded. Please READ AND REVIEW!!! FINISHED!!!
1. Default Chapter

"Ah'm glad you're back Logan."

Marie lifted her face to look into the pair of soft brown eyes so close to her own. The wind blew around them, rustling the leaves on the trees and making her hair dance around her face. Logan smiled down at her. 

"Me too Marie. I don't know how I ever managed to leave you to begin with. Even after I left I couldn't get you out of my mind, darlin'. Those four years I was gone . . . lookin' for pieces of my past while my future was waitin' here all along." He reached down and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Marie's breath caught in her throat as Logan leaned closer, stopping with his mouth inches away from hers. "I love you Marie," he whispered.

A tear rolled down her cheek as Marie closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply taking in his musky scent and reveling in the warmth of his skin so close to hers. As a tear blazed a lonely trail down her cheek she whispered softly.

"Rogue 610812. Stop program."

Suddenly the trees around them began to melt away, revealing the stainless steel of the Danger room. As the scenery dissolved the wind abruptly ceased, and Marie opened her eyes to watch Logan's image shimmer and disappear. Sadly watching her fantasy fade away she turned and walked out of the Danger room. Silently checking to make sure no one had seen her, Marie quietly padded back up to her room. Once inside she locked her door and flopped down on her bed. This was the hardest part.

***  


Logan had returned to the mansion two weeks ago. It had been a quiet day in the mansion and Marie was relaxing in the rec room with Bobby and Jubilee. 

"Awww, do we have to watch another chick flick?"

"Labyrinth is NOT a chick flick, Bobby!" Jubilee responded indignantly.

"Yeah. For your information it happens ta be a very philosophical movie." Marie added.

"Riiiight."

"It is!" Rogue insisted. "The main question of course bein' whether Jareth truly loved her or not. Ah mean, sure he did some nasty things, but he didn't really have a choice. She's the one who created him. He had ta live into her description."

"Yeah, but if she created him, is he really capable of true love?" Jubilee pondered out loud.

"Of course! He--"

Sensing that this was a discussion they'd had before, and most likely a long one at that, Bobby broke in. "So basically what you're saying is that you don't love this movie just because of David Bowie's overly snug pants?"

Marie and Jubilee fell into abrupt silence. Guiltily they looked at one another.

"That's what I thought." Bobby turned back to the TV to watch Sara talk to the owl.

All of a sudden the three mutants heard a derisive snort. Turning around, their jaws dropped as they saw Wolverine standing in the doorway watching them. Marie felt her pulse begin to race. Unable to move she just stared at the owner of the tags she still wore around her neck. For what seemed like forever he simply looked at her. Finally, he walked over to the couch. Glancing down at his tags still resting around her neck he'd smiled and said, "Hey kid."

Hey. Kid.

Those two words had an ambiguous effect on Marie. On one hand, they expressed affection and she was glad he still cared. On the other hand, he still saw her as a kid. Logan had looked at the tags around her neck and seen only the tags. No attention paid to the way the twin slabs of metal rested temptingly secure in a cleavage that hadn't been nearly as pronounced when he left. No notice of the sleight height increase that made her only a few inches shorter than him. She was a woman now.

And he called her Kid.

For the first week, Marie had simply tried to accept it. Logan would never see her in the same way she saw him. She would always just be a child and a friend. 

Still, as much as she tried to deal with it a part of her ached to hear him say something to her that showed he had thought of her. Some loving comment she could treasure in her mind. But none came. That's when she remembered the Danger Room. 

In order to help them learn to better control their abilities and fight as a team, the Professor had shown each of the students how to design a program simulation for the Danger Room. Even though Marie's powers weren't really any good against machines, the Professor had taught her anyway in an attempt to avoid alienating her any further from the other students. As her frustration at Logan's lack of feelings for her grew stronger and stronger, Marie's own innate creativity led her to design a program of a more personal nature. 

And so it happened that every night Marie would sneak down to the Danger Room and run her special program. Every night. Unfortunately, her solution wasn't helping anymore. Her words coming out of a Logan illusion just left her yearning even more to hear them from the real thing. 

Marie covered her face with her hands. When would she ever move on?

***

  
"Outta my way!"

Before Tim could even move, the huge man shoved him violently. He shot towards the bar, slamming into a man sitting with his beer. A low growl came from the figure as his beer spilled onto the counter. Tim backed away as the man rose up and turned to face him. Though he was shorter than Tim was the man had a build that suggested a strength Tim would not want to deal with. As Tim pictured his life flashing before his eyes, the man turned away from him to the big guy who'd shoved him. 

"Watch where yer shovin' people, bub."

The man-mountain drew himself up and gave him an intimidating stare. "I'll shove whoever I want wherever I want."

Wolverine smiled. Before the big guy could react, he leapt towards him. Seconds later the man was lying on top of a broken table nursing the worst headache of his life. Glaring at Wolverine, he unceremoniously rose up and left the bar. Wolverine chuckled and turned to Tim.

"You owe me a beer."

Trembling, Tim thrust a few dollars into his palm and made a hasty retreat. Wolverine turned back to the bar and signaled the bartender to bring him another one. As he sat with his fresh Canadian Gold, Wolverine considered the turn his life had taken. 

Two weeks ago he had returned to Xavier's mansion. Four years of no success up north had left him tired and more than a little bored. During his time away he had often thought back to what was waiting for him at the mansion. A warm room, food, a job kicking ass whenever he wanted, and, oh yeah, Marie. Wolverine had to smile when he thought of the girl wearing his dog tags. She was so young and innocent. He'd missed her. It had seemed like forever since he'd felt comfortable talking to someone. Just relaxing and having fun. It was a shame she wasn't older. 

Wolverine knew she had a crush on him. Not that he didn't find it flattering; he just felt that he was much too old for her. He'd seen things she'd never dreamed of and experienced things he hoped she never would. If he were to be honest with himself, she was the main reason he'd returned. He'd promised to protect her. Even though he knew she thought she wanted him, he knew better. Marie wanted someone tame and safe. Someone that wanted to settle down with her and raise a family. Someone very unlike him. She was innocent.

"Hey, handsome."

Shaken from his contemplation, Wolverine turned to find a very busty red head sliding onto the stool next to him. Grinning, he gave her an appraising look. 

Thoughts of Marie forgotten, he turned his attention to his visitor.

***  


The next day Marie and Logan were sitting in the rec room watching a hockey game. Being Canadian, Logan had always liked the game and not surprisingly it was one of his characteristics that Marie continued to show. They were alone today because the others had all gone out shopping. Logan laid back with his feet up on the coffee table and Marie lay sprawled on her side. Watching one of the players skid across the ice and into a wall Marie shivered a little. The rec room was cold and watching all of this ice wasn't helping. Logan noticed her shiver.

"You cold, kid?" 

"Just a little," Marie mumbled still watching the game.

Pondering that for a moment, Logan finally reached over and effortlessly scooped her up. Pulling her towards him, he laid her with her head against his chest with his right arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Better?"

Shocked at his intimate gesture, it took her a moment to respond. 

"Yeah," Marie replied slowly. She was a little confused. Was the Wolverine trying to cuddle with her? She tried to look at him out of her peripheral vision. He looked the same as he had before, attention carefully devoted to the hockey game. Sighing to herself, Marie turned her attention back to the game too. It had been foolish to think for even a moment that Logan was acting anything but protective over her. Still, as she concentrated on the warm sensation of his arm resting around her shoulders, she couldn't help but wonder . . . 

Suddenly her reverie was broken by Scott's voice. 

"Marie, may I have a word with you?" 

Reluctantly, Marie lifted her head from Logan's shoulder and twisted under his arm to look at Scott.

"Yeah?"

For a moment Scott almost panicked. He hadn't really had something specific to say. He couldn't very well tell her he had just happened to walk by the rec room and notice how cozy her and Logan were getting. Scott knew that it was probably none of his business, but he did not want to see Marie get hurt. He knew she had romantic feelings for Logan and he also knew Logan didn't return them. Marie was setting herself up for a fall and Scott wanted to do anything he could to help her. Which at this moment meant coming up with a plausible explanation for interrupting them. 

"It's about your combat skills. I was reviewing the tapes from your training sessions and I think you would benefit from extra practice."

Wincing at his lame excuse, Scott watched, as Marie seemed to process what he had said. There was a shadow of doubt in her eye that indicated she knew exactly why he had burst in here. And Marie did not appreciate people meddling in her affairs. Silently Scott berated himself for his choice in conversation. Since when did he ever discuss someone's combat skills other than on a one to one basis? Suddenly Scott was saved from his poor choice- only to be damned by it. 

"I'll train ya."

Marie and Scott both turned to face Wolverine.

"You? You're going to train her?" Scott sputtered.

Wolverine turned slowly to grin at Scott. This was fun. He knew Scott hated the idea of the impressionable students being alone with him. Especially Marie. He was afraid Logan would be a bad influence. A wicked though occurred to him. He turned to Marie and gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"What do you say Marie? One hour every day?"

Marie swallowed hard. _One hour everyday alone with Logan practicing hand-to-hand combat._ A small voice in her head was whispering that it wasn't a good idea. However, other body parts argued vehemently that it most certainly was.

"Sure Logan. That'd be great. Thanks."

Wolverine nodded and turned his gaze back to the game. He had to try very hard not to laugh as Scott's face practically turned purple. Muttering to himself, he left the room.

Logan grinned. This was perfect. He loved getting under Scooter's skin. Not only was he rubbing Scott's lack of control over Marie in his face, he was going to teach her what Scott hadn't. Wolverine doubted Marie knew what she was in for. She probably thought he would take it easy on her, but he'd said he'd train her and he'd meant it. He was a firm believer in the no pain no gain theory. Marie was in for some hands on learning in the school of hard knocks. Not that he wanted to hurt Marie. Quite the contrary he simply wanted to know she could protect herself. He'd promised he would protect her but he never knew how long he'd stay this time and he didn't want to leave his sweet innocent little Marie defenseless. Who knows? If he was successful training Marie maybe he could tempt Jean into lessons. Hmmm. It was a definite possibility. 

As Wolverine's mind turned to not so innocent thoughts about Scott's wife, he didn't even notice as Marie's attention faded from the hockey game.

Marie settled back into Logan to continue the game, but her mind could not stay focused on hockey. Logan had volunteered to train her. What would it be like? As she thought it over Marie decided that this situation could definitely be used to her advantage. Combat would give her a chance to show Logan she wasn't a kid anymore. Maybe by being a good student for him she could earn some respect. Plus, combat necessitated tight form-fitting clothes. Logan would have to notice she was a woman. Yes, Marie concluded, this was definitely a good turn of events.

***

Later that day, Marie nervously made her way to the Danger Room. She had five minutes before she had to be there. Tugging at her bodysuit she contemplated her outfit. It had taken her nearly an hour to get ready. She'd finally decided on a full green bodysuit that covered all of her deadly skin. The full coverage would keep Logan safe from any accidental contact. Plus, the skintight material accented her curves to the point that left little to the imagination. He had to notice her now. He had to see the woman she'd become. 

Not wanting to be late for her first lesson, Marie walked a little faster. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door to the Danger Room. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and walked in- then she nearly fell over.

Wolverine was standing in the middle of the room stretching. For a brief second Marie was grateful she'd worn so much covering. Then all thought was gone as she watched a half-dressed Wolverine move through his exercises. Dressed only in loose black pants, his chest bare, Logan had an impressive physique. Marie's breath caught in her throat as she watched his muscles glide under his skin as he moved.

"You gonna come in?" Logan asked slowly ceasing his movements and turning to face her.

Flustered at being caught staring, Marie hastily hurried towards him. Logan turned away from her to hide his grin. Even though he didn't return the crush she had on him, she was still cute when she was nervous.

Minutes later they were both all business as Logan carefully showed her the basics. As they began a slow practice fight, he was pleased to notice she was catching on very quickly. Satisfied she knew the basics, Logan began to move a little quicker. As Marie threw punches and aimed kicks, he carefully spun out of range and then swept in to knock her legs out from under her. Marie was on her feet again quickly and managed to successfully toss him over her shoulder. As both of them landed hits and recovered, they began to push harder. Wolverine felt his blood start to race with the familiar movements of battle.

"Come on darlin' is that all ya got?" He taunted leaping back to avoid her kick aimed at his chest.

"Ah give what Ah get, shugah," Marie responded. She was thankful that the fight was progressing as quickly as it was. She had had a hard time concentrating during the basics, when Logan's arms were constantly around her. It had felt so good to feel his body guiding hers through movements graceful enough to be a dance. She couldn't help but wonder what his body would feel like pressed against hers in under different circumstances.

Too late, Marie realized her reminiscing was going to cost her. Logan had sensed her hesitation, although she was fairly certain he didn't know what thoughts had caused it. Springing towards her, he tackled her to the ground. Marie's eyes grew wide as she looked into his face. His eyes were lit with excitement from the fight. Grinning, he mockingly raised one had over his head and unsheathed his claws.

"Say 'uncle.'" 

All of a sudden several flashes of bright magenta light shot towards Wolverine, exploding against his chest and knocking him off of Marie. He was launched through the air ten feet before landing with a thud on the floor. Shocked, Marie jumped up and spun around searching for the source of the explosives. Logan was already up, both claws unsheathed, tensed to defend against the intruder. 

"Dat be no way t' treat a lady, mon ami."


	2. Chapter 2

Logan and Marie both spun towards the sound of the voice. Searching the room, their eyes finally landed on a figure standing about twenty feet away from them, right inside the door to the Danger Room. He was about 6'2" 180 lbs. His thick auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung down to his shoulders and he wore a long brown trench coat that wafted around his legs. A faint smile played on his lips as he took in Logan and Marie's bewildered expressions. 

"Who the hell are you?" Wolverine growled. He was furious. He'd been so caught up in beating Marie; he hadn't even sensed the man come in. And that little stunt the stranger had just pulled with the fireworks hadn't exactly helped endear him to Wolverine. 

The man simply smiled wider and stepped closer. Marie heard a sound and noticed he was shuffling a deck of playing cards in his hands. Wolverine growled as the man approached Marie and moved to stand between them.

"I said who the hell are you?" Logan was losing patience. Ignoring Wolverine completely, the man sidestepped him and gracefully took Marie's hand in his. 

"Bon jour, Chere." Leaning down he planted a soft kiss on her glove.

That was the last straw. Wolverine growled and moved to shove the man away from Marie. Easily spinning out of his reach, the man grinned again as Marie hurriedly rushed to lay a hand on Logan to keep him from any further attack.

"I don 'tink he like me, Chere."

Finally finding her voice, Marie spoke quickly before Logan could kill him. "It's all right. You just hurt Logan's pride. An you are . . .?" As she raised her eyes to his face Marie could hear her voice trailing off. Mesmerized, she couldn't tear her gaze from his eyes. Blood red irises rested against velvet black, giving the stranger an almost satanic look that would have been unnerving if they hadn't been so . . . gorgeous.

"Ah, forgive me, Chere. Remy LeBeau, at y' service." He said the last part with a sweeping bow. Rising, he once again took her hand in his.

"An' de name dey seen fit t' call y' captivating self?"

Marie couldn't speak for a moment as she watched his strange eyes trail slowly over her body. Any words she may have managed were abruptly cut off as Wolverine made a sudden leap for Remy.

"Wolverine, stop!" A gust of wind halted Wolverine's charge as Storm entered the room and took in the situation. All three of them turned to face Ororo as she approached. 

Sensing that Wolverine was about to explode, Storm silenced him with a look. Even Wolverine was no match for the calm dignity of the weather goddess. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gestured to Remy. 

"Marie, Logan, I would like you to meet the X-Men's newest member - Gambit." At her introduction, Remy smiled and took Ororo's hand in his. 

"An may I add dat it be an honor f' dis Cajun t' be included in de company of such beautiful women." As he kissed Storm's hand he turned his head to wink at Marie.

"That's quite enough, Remy," Ororo replied as he released her hand.

Marie was amazed. She could just swear she saw Storm blush. Turning to their newest member, Marie smiled shyly.

"A pleasure ta meet you, Gambit. Ah'm Marie, but most folks call me Rogue. Welcome ta the X-Men."

"A pleasure t' be here, Chere." After giving Marie a stunning smile that made her heart flutter, Gambit turned to face Wolverine. Silently the two sized each other up. As each one refused to give, a low rumble sounded in Logan's throat. Usually that would have sent any man running the other way, but Gambit didn't even blink. He calmly returned Wolverine's stare with a steady one of his own, his red-on-black eyes glinting in the light. In an attempt to ease the mounting tension, Storm broke in.

"Gambit, this is Logan. He is also called Wolverine." Still maintaining eye contact, Gambit smiled politely. 

"Another member of de esteemed X-Men, mon ami?"

Wolverine gritted his teeth. Though he had been back at the mansion for some time now, he still had not accepted a position on the team. What was worse, Gambit seemed to sense that.

"Gambit take dat as a 'no.' Den again surely a man of your breed has better 'tings t' do wit his time den save de world." Turning so Storm and Marie couldn't see his expression, Gambit flashed Wolverine a mocking grin. Before Logan could react, he'd already spun around to face Marie and Ororo once again.

"Remy would be honored if you two belle femmes would give dis poor Cajun a tour of dis impressive mansion."

Smiling graciously, Storm gestured for him to follow her for the tour. As they turned to go, Gambit offered Marie his arm. 

She almost took it, but stopped. Shaking her head slightly, she turned and walked back to stand beside Logan. Gambit smiled and gave Wolverine a nod of congratulations. Something in his eyes suggested that nothing had been decided yet.

***

"You're kidding! Omigod, I'll bet Wolverine was pissed!"

Jubilee's mouth was going a mile a minute as she tried to express just what Logan was going to do to Gambit after the stunt he'd pulled in the Danger Room. She and Kitty were at their college dorm talking to Marie on a speaker phone. Marie was sitting on her bed as she told her friends about what had happened. Logan had ended their training session when Gambit left with Storm. He had been fuming, and Marie knew he needed a hard core fight in the Danger Room to cool off. She had gone up to her room and called her friends to tell them about what was happening.

Naturally, Jubilee's reaction was very vocal. Kitty was a little shocked.

"Doesn't he know it's a very bad idea to make Wolverine mad?" She whispered.

"Ah thought Logan was gonna kill him," Marie agreed.

"I can't believe he didn't! I mean Wolverine couldn't be intimidated by him, we don't even know what exactly it is Gambit does!"

Marie considered that for a moment.

"All Ah know is he hit Logan with a bunch of glowing pink light. It was like an explosion."

"Sounds like my powers," Jubilee commented. She raised one hand absently and multi-colored sparks began to shoot off in a tiny fireworks display. Marie heard the noise over the phone.

"Sort of."

"At this point I think my powers are the only ones that would help him," Kitty spoke up sadly. "He's gonna wanna phase right through the floor when Wolverine finds him alone."

"Somehow Ah don't think he's much for bein' intimidated, Kitty."

"He'll learn." Jubilee said dryly.

Marie looked up at her clock. "Well, Ah better get down to dinner. Ah'll call you guys again if anything else interesting happens."

"Okay." Jubilee and Kitty agreed. As Marie went to hang up the phone she heard Jubilee call out. "Hey Rogue! If he's hot, why not nab him before someone else does!"

Marie just laughed and hung up the phone. The thought of being with anyone but Logan had never crossed her mind. Still, Jubilee's suggestion rang in her mind, long after she hung up.  


***

Logan was feeling much better. His rage had kept him going for two hours in the Danger Room, but he had once again held onto his humanity and kept his beast inside. After his rage had worked itself through his system, Logan started thinking about the situation more clearly. He did not like this Gambit character. The Cajun had had no business interfering in his training session with Marie. That had been a blow to Wolverine's pride and he made a mental note to pay Gambit back for that. Also, Logan had to admit the way Storm and Marie had practically drooled over the stranger had irritated him. Well, the way Storm had drooled over him anyway, he corrected himself. He knew Marie had a thing for him and only him. Not that he cared either way. Marie was just a kid and besides, Wolverine had a thing for redheads. In any case there wasn't any reason for him to track the Cajun down tonight. He would catch him in due time. Logan headed for his shower with a smile. It was a drinkin' night. 

***

Marie hurried down the hallway. She didn't want to be late for dinner, in case Logan didn't stay there long.

Marie was in such a hurry wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Turning a corner she collided with someone, bouncing off a very hard chest and toppling backwards. Before Marie could hit the ground, two strong arms swept under her and pulled her up. Suddenly she found herself staring into a set of red on black eyes.

"Chere, I 'tink you missed Gambit." Remy teased. His eyes were bright with amusement. 

Marie's breath caught in her throat. His arms were against her back holding her up, while her hands were braced on his chest. She could feel strong muscle under her fingers and his face was only inches from hers. For one wild second Marie thought he was going to kiss her. Panicking, she desperately shoved hard against his chest. Falling to the floor she scurried out of his reach, her heart racing.

Startled by her reaction, Remy looked down at her. Concern knitted his brow and he cautiously offered her a hand up.

"Chere, Gambit didn't mean t' scare you."

Thoroughly embarrassed, Marie accepted the hand he offered. Kicking herself mentally, she realized she'd never told Gambit about her powers.

"It's all right. Really. It not you. It's mah powers . . ." Marie trailed off as she realized that she couldn't explain why she had been afraid of hurting him without admitting she'd thought he was going to kiss her. Vaguely she wondered if she could outrun him.

As if he could sense what she was thinking, Remy smiled. "Maybe we go get dinner at a quiet little cafe, eh? You can tell Gambit all about y' powers."

Marie shook her head and held back. "Ah can't. Ah don't wanna miss Logan."

"De gentleman wit de claws?" Gambit asked dubiously.

Marie nodded. "Yeah."

"I hope he didn't promise you any'ting, Chere. Gambit saw him leave ten minutes ago. though if he did promise y' it wouldn't be too suprising. De man has no manners. My maman woulda beaten dis Cajun senseless if she'd ever caught me sitting on a femme with knives above her heart."

"He was jus trainin' me, Gambit."

"Please, Chere," Gambit interrupted. "Call me Remy."

Rogue blushed. "Okay, "Remy. Logan was just tryin' to help me. Mah battle skills need work and if Ah wanna pull mah weight on the team Ah need ta be able to defend mahself." Marie responded on Logan's behalf.

"Still, Chere, Wolverine had de advantage. Dose knives could do some damage. Gambit didn't see you usin' your powers. It was only fair dat Gambit even de score."

"Ah can't use mah powers. Ah'd kill him."

Gambit looked surprised at her simple statement of that fact. "You dat confident or is de Wolverine dat bad?"

"Ah'm that deadly," she whispered.

Gambit waited silently for her to continue. Sadly, Marie decided that now was as good a time as any to tell him about her powers.

"Mah skin can kill. All it takes is a touch of mah skin to someone else's an Ah suck their powers, memories, strength, an possibly their life right out of them."

"Can' you jus take dere powers?"

Marie shook her head. "Ah can't control it at all. Ah can't even control the transfer long enough to shake hands with someone." Tears began to well up in her eyes as she thought about all the things she couldn't do. Bracing herself, she waited for his response. She waited for the fear that seized people when they found out what an accidental brush with Rogue would do to them. She waited for the pity that showed in the eyes of all her friends when they looked at her. Standing in front of a perfect stranger who had made her feel like such a lady in the span of the day, with tears threatening to stream down her face, Marie waited.

"Chere," he said softly. He tilted her chin up to face him. "Chere, come wit me." Gently reaching down to take her hand he turned and led her over to a window. Confused, Marie watched as he climbed out onto the roof, motioning for her to follow. Crawling out after him, Marie worried that her balance wasn't good enough, but he laid a steadying hand on her arm. They walked further onto the roof and he sat down, gesturing for her to sit beside him. For a moment they both just sat there in silence, watching the sun go down. It was so peaceful. 

"Ah, magnifique, nest pas?" Remy turned to her and smiled. 

Marie offered a cautious smile. She didn't understand what was going on. This was not the reaction she had been expecting. She wondered why he had brought her out here. Looking around, Marie took in the purple sky and the soft shadows cast by the trees scattered around the mansion grounds. It really was magnificent. Her smile became a little more genuine.

"Chere, you have a beautiful smile. Gambit wonder why you don show it more often?"

Marie's smile wavered slightly. Turning to him she let her questions show in her eyes. Gambit understood. Turning to face the setting sun he began to talk.

"Chere, when I first got m' powers I had no control. One day I was jus Remy LeBeau and de next I was a mutant wit de ability to charge 'tings wit kinetic energy." At Marie's confused look he smiled. Reaching into his brown duster he took out a pack of playing cards. He removed one and held it up for her to see. Suddenly the card began to glow with the same bright magenta light that had knocked Wolverine off of her in the Danger Room. Tossing the card into the air they both watched it explode.

"Voila." 

Understanding dawned on Marie. "Ya charged anything ya touched."

"Oui. I was an interesting person t' sleep wit." 

Marie couldn't help but blush as she pictured herself in that situation. Lying in bed with Gambit's arms wrapped around her. A little corner of her mind was shocked that she could have a thought like that about anyone but Logan. Sneaking a glance in Gambit's direction she wondered how it was that he had this effect on her. The look on his face sobered her up. His smile was gone as he stared off into space. There was a faraway look in his eyes that told her he was thinking of something that had happened long ago. She reached out and carefully placed her gloved hand over his. Patiently, she waited for him to go on. When he finally spoke his voice was so soft she had to strain to hear him.

"When I was jus a thirteen I had a girlfriend. Belle. She had golden hair and a laugh dat made y' forget all your troubles. One night we got stuck in de woods after sneakin' out t' go dancin' an' we had t' spend de night in de forest. She fell asleep in m' arms. Dat's when m' powers started." His eyes grew strained and flashed with unshed tears. The corners of his mouth tightened.

"I charged de leaves we were layin' on. The explosion knocked us both unconscious. When her brother found us he blamed me. We fought." He shook his head and looked down. "I won."

Marie's eyes grew wide. "What happened then?"

Gambit let out a breath. "I had t' leave. I swore I'd do anyting t' control m' powers." His eyes darkened. "An I did." For a minute, he stared off into space, a haunted look on his handsome features. Then he seemed to shake it off. "Still, I haven't been back since," he finished.

As he finished, Marie squeezed his hand with hers. For a while, they sat in silence, both just staring at the darkening horizon. Marie knew he'd shared something incredibly personal with her just now. It was only fair she returned the favor.

***  
  
After he'd finished his story, Gambit waited for the false sympathy people always gave to bleeding heart stories. He expected her to comment on how horrible it was, maybe tell him how sorry she was for his loss. But Rogue just squeezed his hand and remained silent. He was touched that she seemed to care. Something told him the fact that she'd taken his hand was not something he should take lightly. The absolute terror he'd seen in her eyes in the hallway told him just how dangerous she considered her touch. How afraid she was to touch. Despite the severity of the moment, Gambit couldn't help but wonder what her touch would feel like. He couldn't see much of her skin because her bodysuit covered her well. Still, Gambit was no innocent when it came to women. And the skin-tight fit of her clothes showed off every curve a woman could dream of having. She was definitely well built. Turning slightly so she wouldn't notice, Gambit looked at her. Her legs were a little short, but they suited her height and they were shaped and muscled. Her stomach was smooth and firm with that tiny pouch all women seemed to have on their abdomen. His eyes followed her stomach up to her breasts. They were full and perfectly proportionate to the rest of her. Trying to fight the urge to stare at them in male chauvinist style, he quickly moved his gaze up to her face. Her eyes were a shade of brown so dark they were almost black. Her hair was a deep chocolate brown with a platinum streak down the center. Remy briefly wondered if her hair was really as soft as it looked. He was just about to find out when she spoke.

"Ah know how ya feel."

Snapping back into the moment, Gambit turned his full attention back to the conversation as he waited for her to continue.

"Mah powers showed up when Ah was thirteen. An it was mah boyfriend that got hurt. We were layin' on mah bed plannin' a road trip. Then he kissed me." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly to keep any tears from starting. "He went into a coma," she said quietly. 

Moved by the pain that was so similar to his own, Gambit reached an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.

"Ah know he doesn't hold it against me. The part of him that's still in mah head told me that. But our families weren't nearly so understanding. Mah father disowned me and Cody's family wanted to hunt me down. Ah had to leave Caldecott county."

"No man could look you in de eyes, Chere, an hold any wrong against you."

She sighed. "That's sweet, Remy. But the worst part was Ah ruined mah mama's life too. When Ah put Cody into a coma, everyone wondered where Ah got mah x gene. They turned on mah mama, and she had to run away too."

"So why aren't y' with her?"

"By the time they found out about her, Ah was in Canada, with Logan."

Remy nodded. "Well, mah Chere, no one can say our lives are dull, eh?"

Marie laughed and smiled up at him. He smiled back. In comfortable silence they both turned and watched the sun go down. 

*** 

Marie couldn't sleep. Raising her head off the pillow she looked at the clock for what seemed like the billionth time. 3:11 am. Sighing, she gave up and got out of bed. Not even bothering to put her long robe on, she just went downstairs in her shorts and baby tee. At 3:11 in the morning, she wasn't that worried about running into anyone. Besides, it was a rare moment of freedom to walk around the mansion with so much skin showing. Going straight to the kitchen, Marie began to search for a snack. 

***

Gambit checked his watch as he scaled the mansion's perimeter gate. The Professor's defenses were impressive. Remy had seen more than his share of good defense systems and the Professor's was definitely ranked in the top three. However, despite its impressive credentials, it was still no match for Remy LeBeau, Prince of Thieves. It had taken him less time than he'd thought it would to finish his business. He was going to start a new life here as an X-Man and he didn't want his past to catch up to him and ruin it. Sprinting across the yard and making sure to stay in the shadows he made it to the mansion. Punching in the code the Professor had given him he quietly slipped inside.

As he made his way through the living room, Gambit heard a rustling sound in the kitchen. Quietly tip-toeing to the doorway, he peeked in.

Marie was kneeling on the counter with practically her whole top half buried inside a cupboard. She seemed to be looking for something. For a minute all Gambit could do was stare. Her shorts, if you could call them that, barely covered her underwear. Vaguely Gambit wondered what she was wearing under them. He didn't see any lines so he assumed it was a thong. At that thought Gambit felt his blood temperature go up a notch. Moving his eyes up he noticed the smooth lines of her stomach leading up to where she disappeared into the cupboard. As very man-like thoughts started parading around his head, Gambit found himself being drawn to this mutant with the poisonous skin. He'd always loved a challenge.

So caught up was he in his thoughts he didn't notice Marie pulling out of the cupboard - that is until she screamed.

"AHHHHHH!!!"

Her piercing shriek shocked Gambit back into reality quick enough for him to dive across the room in time to catch her as she fell. Marie landed hard in his arms causing them both to fall to the floor amidst a rain of potato chips.

For a moment both of them were too busy calming their respective heartbeats to move. Marie recovered first.

"What in tarnation are ya tryin' ta do?! Give me a heart attack?!" she screeched.

Gambit just lay there dazed. All he could hear was the blood pounding through his ears. Blood that redirected itself as he became aware of where Marie was sitting. Groaning, he closed his eyes. Somehow he remembered being more suave than this.

Marie interpreted his groan to be a sign of pain and she suddenly realized she was still sitting on top of him. For a second, panic overtook her as she scrambled off; making sure none of his skin had touched her.

"Oh mah god! Ah'm so sorry!"

Regaining some semblance of composure, yet sorry she'd moved, Gambit flashed her a smile.

"S'ok chere, Gambit can 'tink of worse 'tings dan havin' a beautiful woman fall into his arms."

Marie looked at him speechless, searching his eyes for some trace of fear at being so close to her with so much skin showing. Finding none, she noticed he was wearing black leather gloves and his duster. Visibly relaxed that he hadn't been in any real danger, her mind picked up another thought. He'd called her a woman. And not just a woman - a beautiful woman. Surprised and flattered Marie couldn't think of anything to say. Gambit smiled again and tilted her chin up with one gloved hand. However, before he could say anything they were both jolted out of the moment as the mansion's alarm sounded. The Professor's voice filled their heads.

"X-Men, gather in the War Room quickly."

Reluctantly, Marie moved to stand up. Together she and Gambit raced to the War Room. 

***

Five minutes later the Professor, Storm, Jean, Cyclops, Gambit, and Rogue were all gathered around the table in the War Room. They all glanced at Marie's skimpy attire and she flinched inwardly. Sensing her discomfort, Gambit removed his duster and put it around her shoulders. Gratefully, Marie accepted, sitting down and pulling it closer around her. Everyone in the room visibly relaxed and the Professor began to speak.

"I have just received a call from an old colleague of mine, Carol Danvers. Most of you know her as Ms. Marvel. One hour ago--"

The Professor was cut off as Wolverine made a noisy entrance into the War Room. Obviously back from a night of drinking, he hazily surveyed the room. When his eyes fell upon Marie wrapped in Gambit's trench coat he quirked an eyebrow. However, he didn't have time to ponder it much further.

"Wolverine, I'm glad you're here."

"What's goin' on?" Logan asked, growing more alert as his healing factor proceeded to detoxify him.

Turning his attention to everyone once more, the Professor continued. "One hour ago Ms. Marvel came upon a small community home for young mutants. The building was under attack by the Sentinels."

Everyone in the room gasped. The Sentinels were giant robots made by the government to deal with the "mutant threat." The X-Men had dealt with them on a few occasions and they were formidable adversaries.

"Ms. Marvel is currently helping the mutants defend their home. I want you to take the Blackbird and get there as quickly as possible."

The X-Men needed no further encouragement. Scott and Ororo stayed with the Professor as he gave them the location and the details of the area. Jean went to prepare the jet with Gambit while Rogue and Wolverine left to get suited up.

Ten minutes later they were strapping into the Blackbird and preparing for battle. As they all took seats on the jet, Wolverine was surprised to note that Marie didn't try to seat herself next to him. He hadn't even thought she would be going on the mission. Kitty and Jubilee were both in college, and he'd just assumed Marie would have done the same. Noticing the direction of his gaze Ororo spoke up.

"Marie decided that her place was with the X-Men. She joined the team when she graduated, two years after you left ."

Wolverine snorted. "She's too young to be fighting."

Storm gave him a withering look. "She is twenty years old. She has trained hard to earn her place on the team."

"One-eye agrees that she needs more training," he responded. He ignored Storm's pointed reference to Marie's age. He still thought she was too young.

"Cyclops thinks she could improve her battle skills," Storm corrected. "Not that she is not skilled enough to fight. Besides, it is her choice. At least she has chosen a side."

Wolverine refused to give her the satisfaction of wincing as she repeated the line she'd said to him the first time he had met the X-Men.

"I've chosen a side. I'm here ain't I?"

"And how long will it remain so Logan? How long before you leave us this time?"

"Who says I'm leavin' again?"

"If you are so certain of that, you would have declared yourself a formal member of the team."

"Is that what's botherin' you? You want me to say the words? Is that what counts? Shit, I'm here, by your side helping the fight, but you're upset because I haven't given you my word? Is there paperwork I need to fill out? What do you want from me?!"

Throughout Wolverine's outburst, Storm remained calm. She knew that people did not lash out this vehemently without a reason. Something was bothering Logan. Deep down, he felt it. He felt the need to formally tie himself to these people who obviously cared so much about him. Wolverine was right, there was no paperwork that went with joining the team. There was no special badge or any specific process one had to go through. In any case, nothing he had not already done. But contrary to what he claimed, there was a great deal of importance behind the verbal acknowledgement of his joining the team. Part of Wolverine was deathly afraid to truly commit himself to the X-Men. Afraid to let himself care about their well-being and recognize them as his family. By not saying those words, he was refusing to admit it to himself that this situation was indeed permanent. However, if he was not ready to admit it, it was not Ororo's place to force it on him.

"I want you to be happy Logan."

That was not the response he'd expected. Wolverine had nothing to say to that. Dumbfounded and frustrated, he and Storm finished the ride in silence. 

*** 

Across the jet , Marie silently observed Logan's outburst. Deep down she prayed that he would say something about permanently joining the team. Something that would calm her fears that he was going to leave again. She'd let him leave once, she wasn't sure she could do it again. Unfortunately, she did not seem to have the same affect on him as he did on her. She sincerely doubted he would think of her if he decided to leave. Why would he stay here because of her?

When Wolverine had walked into the War Room, Marie had almost been embarrassed that she was wearing Gambit's coat. She had searched Logan' face for some sign of jealousy, but had found none. Disappointed despite the futile nature of her hope, she sat back and let her eyes wander around the jet. Gambit was talking with Storm about what action they were going to take after they arrived at their destination. Gambit was new to the team so he didn't know much about their strategy. Marie would have joined them, but she probably wouldn't be in the actual battle anyway. Her powers would be useless against giant machines. The only reason she came along at all was to help with anyone who might be wounded and to take care of the mutants they were saving. Not much more than glorified babysitting. Marie didn't have any more time to contemplate her role as Cyclops announced they had arrived. It was time. 

As the X-Men disembarked and went to the aid of the young mutants and Ms. Marvel, not one of them could have guessed what would happen. 


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: RandiRogue: if you could e-mail me, I would appreciate it if you could help me out. You mentioned the story being rushed, could you be more specific, so I can improve?

***

"Come on, keep going!" Marie shouted above the roar of battle. She was inside what was left of the community building, trying to get the mutants who couldn't fight onto the Blackbird. Running alongside them, she led them towards the waiting jet. Some of the mutants from the center had joined in the battle, but some were too weak or, like her, their powers were useless against the machines. 

Scanning the scene for more of the young mutants, Marie saw a small girl curled up in a ball by the building. Sprinting towards her, Marie leaned down to coax her to the jet. As she leaned down the girl's body suddenly shifted. Before Marie could react, she had grown into a monster with tentacles that lashed out. Marie screamed as one of the tentacles brushed across her face. Her own mutation kicked in. Suddenly, Marie's body began shifting from form to form. Tall, short, big, little- Marie panicked as her entire being continued to remold itself over and over. Finally, Marie came to her senses enough to remember what the Professor had taught her about clearing her mind. Taking a few deep breaths, Marie pushed the girl's memories down into her subconscious. Careful not to touch her again, Marie picked up the unconscious child and ran towards the Blackbird. Once the girl was safely tucked inside, with her friends taking care of her, Marie rushed back outside. The battle was still raging strong and the robots were gaining ground. 

Before Marie had gotten ten feet, a woman's body hurtled out of the sky into the ground. Shocked, Marie rushed over to find Ms. Marvel in a small crater. Pulling her out, Marie checked for a pulse. Dread settled like lead in her stomach as she realized the woman's heartbeat was fading fast. 

"Ms. Marvel. Please Ms. Marvel, ya gotta wake up!" Marie frantically tried to shake the woman back into consciousness.

The woman's eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes. Groggily, she looked up at Marie.

"Who are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Ah'm Marie. Ah'm from Xavier's. You're gonna be ok."

"Rogue!" Her weak voice sounded frantic. Her eyelids fluttered again as death fought to claim its victim. "Rogue . . . take my powers . . . help our friends . . ."

Marie's eyes grew wide. Horror seized her heart as she listened to what this woman was saying. She couldn't be serious. Ms. Marvel's body began convulsing. Desperately trying to hold on but unable to say anymore, she beseeched Marie with her eyes. A tear slid down her face as Marie made her choice. Removing one of her gloves, she slowly brushed her finger over Ms. Marvel's face. For the second time that day, she felt the rush of her power. As Ms. Marvel's strength and power of flight filled Marie, so did her memories. Temporarily taking over, Ms. Marvel flew into the sky as Marie's body morphed again with the child mutant's shape shifting power. Forming to the mind in control, Marie shot into the sky in the body of Ms. Marvel. 

***

****

Later . . . 

As the weary members of the X-Men finally trooped back onto the Blackbird they each carried a heavy heart. Ms. Marvel had died in the fight. As the last of the Sentinels was destroyed, the X-Men had returned to their jet to find the body of their fallen comrade not ten feet away. The crater that held her body told them she had been struck down hard by one of the insidious robots. Her body already weakened from the long battle, Carol Danvers had not survived. Storm, Jean, and Cyclops boarded the plane with tears carefully controlled in their eyes. None of them were looking forward to bearing this news to the Professor. They had salvaged her body to bury in the mansion's graveyard beside other comrades who had fallen before her. 

Wolverine and Gambit were both too new to remember Carol. However, that did not lessen the sadness they both felt on behalf of their fellow X-Men. Ms. Marvel had given her life to help other mutants. As far as either of the men were concerned, it was the world's loss. The mutants that they had saved from the community center were huddled around each other. They too mourned the loss of the brave woman who had tried so hard to save them.

Everyone was so wrapped up in his or her own grief, no one noticed Marie as she quietly took a seat on the far side of the jet. Careful not to make eye contact with anyone, Marie stared down at her hands. One of them was still gloveless. She had dropped her glove after Ms. Marvel had taken over her body. As Marie stared at her bare hand her body began to tremble. What had she done? How could she ever tell her teammates? 

Horrible questions plagued her. What if they thought she had stolen Ms. Marvel's life against her will? What if they didn't believe she'd been dying, had begged Marie to use her powers? Marie was close to tears, when she heard a soft voice whispering in her mind. It was Carol Danvers. The older woman's psyche still rested within Marie, and she had come forward in her mind to comfort the distressed mutant. As Ms. Marvel's mental voice spoke soothing words of comfort and reassurance, Marie closed her eyes and tried very hard to listen.

***

Across the jet Wolverine saw Marie close her eyes. She looked like she was upset about something. Sighing to himself Wolverine realized he'd been right. Marie wasn't ready for battle. Even the stress of getting the innocents safely on board the jet had overwhelmed her. Logan couldn't imagine how she'd be right now if she'd actually had to fight. The poor kid was a wreck. A pang of guilt shot through Wolverine. He'd promised Marie he would protect her and yet he'd barely put up any resistance to allowing her on this mission. Now his innocent little Marie would probably have nightmares about that horrible battle. It probably hadn't helped that Ms. Marvel, a woman who new better than anyone how to handle herself in battle, was dead. Wolverine wondered if Marie had ever seen a dead body before. The panicked look on her face and the way she'd avoided everyone's eyes when they'd found the body made him think she hadn't. It had shaken her up. Wolverine shook his head and stood up. Walking over to Marie, he sat down and put his arm around her shoulders. She collapsed against him without even opening her eyes. Softly, Logan brushed his gloved hand over her hair. He was going to take better care of her from now on. If he had any say whatsoever about it, Marie would never go through this again.

***

Gambit watched as Wolverine sat holding Rogue. Thoughtfully, he watched the look on her face. Her eyes were closed and she seemed like she was concentrating on something only she could hear. Reaching a hand into the pocket of his duster Gambit fingered the glove he'd found on the ground. He'd seen it when the X-Men had found the body of Ms. Marvel in that crater. While the rest of them were gathering her body to take back for a burial, Gambit's keen thief senses had picked up on that splash of dark green against the ground. No one had noticed as he casually scooped it up and put it in his pocket. He'd seen that color green before. Marie had been wearing a bodysuit that exact color the first day he'd met her in the Danger Room. Gambit didn't know what had made him pick the glove up or why he hadn't let anyone see him. At first he'd intended to simply return it to Marie. But as Gambit sat and watched her across the jet he began to wonder. How had Marie's glove come off? 

At first Gambit himself had been tempted to dismiss it, after all it wasn't so unlikely that someone would lose a glove in the heat of battle. But Marie hadn't been in the battle. She was just there to help with the young mutants and get them aboard the jet. Also, in the short time he'd known her he'd seen her reaction several times when she thought someone was in danger of accidental contact with her skin. Gambit couldn't imagine her not noticing a missing glove. Was it just a coincidence that it happened to be next to the body of the fallen heroine? What did Marie hear that had her concentrating so hard even as she pressed her head closer to Wolverine? Gambit didn't have the answers to any of these questions. But if any of the answers leaned the way they seemed to . . . 

Gambit glanced up again as Wolverine whispered soothing words to Marie. Making up his mind, Gambit kept the glove in his pocket. He was going to get some answers. 

*** 

The next morning Marie woke up early. For a long time she just lie on her bed and let her mind wander over the events of the past day. She still hadn't told anyone. At first she'd felt guilty. She felt like she had to tell them. But Carol had been very understanding. Marie smiled sadly. Carol had lived a full life and she had died the way she wanted - helping those who needed her. She was content to remain in the depths of Rogue's psyche, only coming to the front when Marie needed her. Yesterday on the jet she had told Rogue that she had meant what she said when she asked Marie to absorb her. She said she didn't want Marie to feel any guilt over it. If Marie did not feel comfortable telling the others yet, that was understandable. Carol had remarked dryly that she wasn't going anywhere, Marie had all the time in the world. As she thought back to the jet ride she remembered something else. _Logan_. Logan had held her all the way back, whispering soothing words to her. For a brief moment Marie had wondered if he knew. He kept telling her it was going to be ok. He said he was going to be there to protect her. He hadn't even glared at Gambit once. Deep in her heart Marie felt the beginnings of hope stir. Maybe Logan was starting to care for her more deeply. Stretching her arms over her head, Marie smiled. Life was starting to look a little better. 

***

Logan woke up, still dressed from the night before. _What a night_. First the battle to save that community center, then he had stayed at the mansion keeping an eye on Marie till she was safely tucked in her bed. He had planned to spend the evening taking care of her, but she had seemed a little dazed and gone to bed early. Finding himself with nothing to do, Logan had gone to the bar. As the sunlight streamed in his window Wolverine growled and turned his head back into the pillow. He never should have gone home with the red head. Not that she wasn't a great lay, she was. Still, it was such a hassle to wake up at five in the morning in a strange room. He hadn't gotten back into the mansion until almost six. Things would be so much more convenient if he had a red head at the mansion. Logan's mind perked up at that thought. Jean would probably be up by now. Logan grinned into his pillow. He may not have a real chance at Jean, but annoying the shit out of one-eye always made it well worth the effort. With a game plan of shooting Scott to new heights of irritation, Logan launched himself out of bed. 

***

Elsewhere in the mansion, Gambit was heading into the shower. His demonic eyes were clouded over, a sign that he had not slept well. Stripping his body of his rumpled clothes, Gambit groggily stepped into the shower and turned the water on as cold as he could take it. Turning his face to the cool spray he went over again in his mind the dilemma he was in. 

He had to find out what had happened between Rogue and Ms. Marvel, but he didn't want to involve anyone else. He'd seen the way they all went on super-cautious mode around Marie. Even the ones closest to her kept their distance. Well, except for Wolverine. Gambit rolled is eyes. The man had no class. He had taken the caveman thing way too far. Gambit couldn't figure out if he really cared for Marie or not. On the one hand, he had held her protectively on the Blackbird after the mission yesterday. However, before that Gambit had caught him holding his claws above Marie's heart. Gambit didn't care what he was doing, that was no way to express one's love. In any case, Wolverine didn't seem to have the vaguest clue about what might have happened between Marie and Ms. Marvel. Even Gambit wished he knew for sure.

What if she had attacked Ms. Marvel? Sure, she seemed innocent, but Gambit had met many manipulative people in his life. Her innocence could just be a front. After all, with her ability to steal other mutants' powers, a school for mutants would be the perfect place to be. Especially with a whole team of strong mutants. Maybe Rogue had integrated herself in this place for just this purpose. Ms. Marvel's death certainly seemed natural enough. And who's to know she did it? No one could possibly keep an eye on everyone in the heat of battle. It was the perfect setup. 

As the possibility that Rogue was an enemy tried to take control of Gambit's mind with logic, another side of him spoke up. Gambit found himself remembering that first day on the roof. When he and Marie had sat there and shared their mutation stories. Even now, looking back, Gambit did not regret telling Marie about Belle. That surprised him more than he wanted to admit. He never talked about Belle. Ever. Yet, he had gone and told Marie the first day he met her. Part of Gambit's powers included empathy and he had felt very comfortable in baring his soul to Marie about that particular part of his past. He had sensed that similar pain in her. If he were to go by his empathy, which had never misled him before, he would have to say Marie was who she said she was. A young woman from Mississippi tortured by a mutation that denied her any physical contact with those she cared for. But Gambit had never met a mutant who could steal another mutant's memories. What if Rogue had absorbed others besides Ms. Marvel? What if that mix of psyches made her able to fool his empathy? Making people feel instantly comfortable was usually a good sign that someone was manipulative. Again Gambit groaned in frustration. There was no simple answer to these questions. He was simply going to have to find out himself. Somehow he had to get close to this untouchable mutant and find out the truth. 

The only obstacle that might get in his way was Wolverine. Even if Logan didn't show much affection for Marie, Gambit sensed that she might have enough for both of them. He was observant enough to notice she had a thing for him. The dog tags around her neck were a pretty good sign. Still, Gambit had never been one to back down from a challenge. 

Smiling, and refreshed with the thought of a plan, Gambit turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Toweling himself off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and pushed open the bathroom door - and ran right into Marie.

Marie stopped so abruptly she nearly fell and Gambit had to reach out to catch her. Holding her up in his arms Gambit had a very strong sense of _deja vu_. 

"Chere we got t' keep meetin' like dis."

Marie seemed too shocked to say anything. Without realizing what she was doing, she looked Gambit up and down. The lower half of her body was pressed too close to his for her to see his legs. The white terrycloth towel he was wearing draped around his hips was slung low enough that she could see a flat abdomen leading up to a smooth and muscled chest. His skin had a natural tan and was soft to the touch. Even with her gloves on Marie could feel the soft texture of his skin over the hardness of his muscle. As her eyes continued their trail up to his neck, Marie didn't notice Gambit watching her.

Sensing a perfect opportunity, Gambit allowed her to appraise his body before breaking in.

"See any 'ting y' like chere?"

As predicted Marie immediately blushed a charming shade of red. Stepping quickly out of his arms and standing on her own two feet once again she tried to meet his gaze.

"Maybe" she replied flippantly. Stunned by her own words, Marie carefully kept her face a cool mask of composure. Gambit grinned even wider.

"Perhaps, ma chere would like t' see de whole package b' fore decidin'?"

"Not now, Ah'm afraid. Ah need ta get a shower an then Ah was gonna run some errands." Marie as amazed at how even her voice was coming out. She was flirting!

"Surely a beautiful lady like y' self wouldn't be goin' alone? I would be most honored, Mademoiselle Marie if you would allow dis Cajun t' escort you." He gave a sweeping bow.

Marie couldn't help but wonder how anyone could be so suave while wearing nothing but a towel. Still, she slipped into her best Scarlet O' Hara to reply.

"Why suh, Ah would be delaghted." She held her gloved hand out to him and Gambit obligingly took it in his and laid a soft kiss on her glove.

"Gambit be ready at one chere."

"Ah'll be waitin'." With that Marie turned and practically sashayed back to her room.

Gambit could not stop smiling. He had never seen Marie so confident. Instead of folding under his playful advances she had met him step for step. He found that he was truly looking forward to this date.

As Gambit turned to go back to his room a thought occurred to him that wiped the smile off his face. What was with the change in attitude? Marie was usually so shy around him, now all of a sudden she's Miss. Confidence? A wisp of dread began to thread its way into Gambit's stomach. He had never formally met Ms. Marvel, but he was beginning to wonder if she'd been a confident woman with the gentlemen. Damn. Gambit mentally kicked himself. Here he thought he was supposed to be the one with the plan and Marie was wrapping him around her little finger. He was going to have to be more careful. With renewed determination, Gambit went back to his room. 

***

When Marie got back to her room she closed the door and leaned heavily against it. Her knees felt weak and she was so giddy her hands were trembling. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nope. She was still giddy. Laughing she ran and threw herself on her bed. Rolling onto her back she stared up at the ceiling, a grin splitting her face. She was feeling a rush like she'd never felt before. Even though she was twenty years old, her powers had always discouraged her from any kind of dating. She'd never even really flirted, for fear they would think she was offering something she could never give them. Somehow she hadn't worried about any of that just now with Gambit.

Suddenly a picture of Logan flashed through her mind. Marie sobered up. _Logan_. He had just started getting closer to her again. What was she doing with Gambit? Now she remembered her earlier plan. She had been going to ask Logan for a ride into town. That's why she was going to do errands. A ride into town on the back of a motorcycle necessitated her putting her arms around Logan's waist. That was a thrill she seldom got to experience and now she'd wasted an opportunity by accepting a ride from that Cajun. Shit. 

Then again maybe this would give Logan a wake up call. Maybe if she started going out with Gambit every once in a while, Logan would feel possessive over her and realize he had feelings for her. A smile slowly began to return to Marie's face. Having a good time with Gambit wasn't going to hurt anyone, and maybe seeing her with Gambit would make Logan realize how grown up she'd become. As these new happy thoughts paraded through her mind Marie laughed.

***

****

1:00

Gambit was sitting on a chair in the main lounge waiting for Rogue. He was dressed in a pair of powder blue jeans, which were shredded at each knee, and a clean white t-shirt that clung to his muscles and accented the tan of his skin. His reddish brown hair was left long and loose to lie across his shoulders. Stretched out in the chair he thought over how he was going to go about this. 

He had to get to know her. Maybe he was way off base thinking she'd done anything out of line. Maybe this was all an honest mistake. Maybe he was losing his mind.

Gambit ran a hand through his hair. If he were going to be brutally honest with himself he'd have to admit that it wouldn't really prove anything about Marie even if she had done something to Ms. Marvel. One wrong does not an evil person make. At least Gambit hoped so. If one wrong did an evil person make he hated to imagine what he was. Shuddering at the memory those thoughts evoked, Gambit prayed once again that his new friends would never find out what he'd done. He knew they believed in second chances, but he couldn't imagine them forgiving him that one heinous night. He knew he never would.

That thought brought a sense of pointlessness to Gambit's whole plan. How could he possibly hope to judge Marie after what he himself had done?

Still, he told himself, he was trying to make up for that. He hoped that joining the X-Men would give him a chance to in some small way relieve the guilt he still felt over that night. And maybe by protecting the X-Men like he hadn't protected others he could save his soul. If Rogue did turn out to be a threat he may be the only one who was in a position to stop her.

Gambit groaned and closed his eyes. He liked her. God he hoped she was what everyone thought.

"Whatsa matter Gumbo? All that hair givin' you a headache?"

Gambit opened his eyes to see Wolverine watching him from the hall. He straightened up in his chair. He needed to be a little cautious.

"Why Wolverine, Gambit didn't know you cared."

"Of course I care. As a matter of fact if you wanna follow me to the Danger Room I'll make sure you never have a headache again." A feral grin spread over Wolverine's face as he anticipated Gambit's acceptance of the challenge.

Gambit leveled a steady look at him.

"I'd love to mon ami, but Gambit already promised Marie he'd take her out," he drawled. He tried not to smile as he watched the enraged look on Logan's face.

In a flash Wolverine had leapt at him from across the room. Gambit launched himself up out of the chair just as Wolverine landed in the space where he'd been sitting. Spinning around he faced Gambit. The two men began to circle one another.

"You stay away from Marie," Wolverine ground out from behind gritted teeth.

"I 'tink de lady can make her own decisions."

Wolverine's claws burst from their sheaths. He took a menacing step forward, but Gambit held his ground as his eyes began to glow.

"Ah hope ya'll are gettin' along down here."

At the sound of her voice both men spun around, Wolverine quickly re-sheathing his claws and Gambit's eyes fading back to normal. Both of them smiled innocently at Marie as she warily eyed them from the stairs.

"Ya'll seem as tense as a couple a long tailed cats in a room full a rockin' chairs." Marie commented tentatively as she watched the two men. Looking from face to face she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Hey kid, how's it goin'?" Wolverine searched Marie's face for any sign of distress. He wondered if she'd had any nightmares about the battle. Before Marie could reply, Gambit interjected.

"Gambit was merely awaiting y' presence. Ma chere, y' look beautiful." Gambit said as he went to meet Marie as she came downstairs. Taking her hand in his he laid a kiss on her glove. He couldn't help but run his gaze over her. She was wearing a snug pair of blue jeans and black boots. Her shirt was a deep emerald green silk blouse that cut low in the front to reveal more smooth curves, and a sheer scarf of a slightly lighter shade of green was wrapped around her neck. His gaze faltered a little as it fell on the dogtags that still rested on her chest. Recovering smoothly he stood up and turned to open the door for her.

"Y' ready t' go?"

"Yeah, sure." Marie said absently. She looked over at Logan as she and Gambit turned to leave. The veins in his neck were huge and he looked like he wanted to kill someone. What had happened to upset him like that? Marie walked out the door still wondering. As soon as the door closed behind her Wolverine dashed to the Danger Room. He needed to destroy something so he was controlled enough to wait for Gambit. No one messed with Marie.

***

"What were you boys doin' before Ah came down?" Marie asked suspiciously as she and Gambit walked towards the garage.

"No'ting Chere. Wolverine and I were jus discussin' headache remedies."

Before Rogue could inquire further, Gambit stopped in front of a Harley Davidson. Rogue stopped and watched as he climbed on and waited expectantly for her to get on behind him.

"This is yours?"

Puzzled at what he considered a fairly obvious question, Gambit turned to look at her. "Yes," he said slowly. "Don y' like motorcycles?"

Rogue resisted the urge to point out that she preferred riding with Logan. "Yeah, course Ah do." She stepped closer and swung one leg over to sit behind him. Keeping her arms down at her sides she waited for him to start the bike.

For a moment Gambit wondered why she wasn't holding on, but decided not to ask. He revved the bike and they took off down the mansion's long driveway.

As the wind rushed through her hair, Rogue couldn't help but smile. She loved bikes. When they reached the road Gambit turned and abruptly sped up. Quickly Rogue grabbed his waist to keep from falling off. In front of her Gambit smiled. Let the fun begin.


	4. Chapter 4

It was nearly eleven o' clock by the time Gambit and Rogue returned. Somehow between the mansion and town they had gotten to talking about clothes and how difficult it was to find a truly good clothing store, and before either of them knew it they were on a winding road trip to nearly every corner of New York. They'd gone to so many stores they lost count and when they got hungry they'd stopped by quaint restaurants and street cafes. Gambit had taken her to an out of the way Cajun restaurant where Rogue had her first gumbo experience. They'd laughed, they'd talked, they'd just generally had a great time and both of them were a little sorry to see the mansion come into view up ahead.

When they got back Gambit escorted Rogue to her room, carrying enough bags to clothe the entire state of New York. It was a tribute to Rogue that she'd managed to hold onto them during the ride. 

As they got to her room, Rogue opened her door and Gambit carried the packages in and laid them on the floor. Rogue walked in to stand by her dresser and watched him. As he set the last one down, Gambit turned around to face her. Rogue's heart sped up as he met her gaze and began walking towards her.

"Um, thanks for helping me with mah stuff Gambit-"

"Remy." He kept walking towards her.

"Remy. Ah had a lot of fun today."

"Me too." Gambit stopped in front of her. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was windblown from the ride and her skin was flushed. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he didn't want to scare her. Slowly he reached his hand up to run a gloved finger down her cheek.

Marie's breath caught in her throat. A tiny voice whispered that this wasn't Logan, that she should stop him. But she couldn't tear her eyes away from that red on black gaze. As he started to lean closer, Marie panicked.

"Remy mah skin-"

"Shhhh," Gambit whispered. He gently reached down and lifted the end of her scarf to cover the lower part of her face. Marie breath caught in her throat as their mouths met. His lips barely brushed hers but even that small intimate touch made things low in Marie's body tighten. Reveling in the new sensation she moaned. Gently, Gambit increased the pressure and Marie unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms encircled her waist as her body pressed closer to his. She felt his tongue slide out to moisten the scarf between their mouths and timidly she copied the motion. Her reaction elicited a groan from Gambit and he pulled her even tighter against him. 

It seemed like forever before their mouth parted, but even that was too soon. Gambit pulled back a few inches to look at her. Marie's eyes were glassy and her knees felt weak. She ducked her head under Gambit's smoldering gaze.

"Ma chere . . ." he reached his hand back up to caress her cheek. "Gambit should probably go. Dis Cajun is a gentleman, but even gentlemen can't resist everything."

Marie smiled shyly. "Ah'll see ya around tomorrow."

"Gambit gon be seein' ya sooner dan dat."

Marie's heart skipped a beat. Gambit smiled.

"Gambit gon see y' in his dreams tonight, Chere. No doubt about it."

Marie tried not to let the dopey smile split her face like she knew it must have.

"G' night Remy."

"_Bonne nuit_, ma chere."

Gambit desperately reined in his hormones as he tried to tear himself away. After he left the room, and the door was safely shut behind him, he leaned against the wall. He had the very unsettling thought that it was no longer clear who was playing whom. Shaking his head Gambit began to walk to his room.

As he entered and closed the door behind him, Gambit's kinetic sense suddenly detected another presence in the darkness of his room. Slowly, Gambit reached out and retrieved his playing cards off the dresser. Expanding his mutant gift he tried to pick up some movement in the room. Suddenly a voice carried over to him from a few feet away.

"I owe you some time in the Danger Room, pretty boy."

Gambit turned to face the voice. He knew who it was. "Name de time, mon ami."

Wolverine separated himself from the shadows and stalked towards him. A feral smile twisted his mouth as he looked at Gambit like he was a deer and Wolverine was a hungry . . . well, wolverine. Gambit held his ground, keeping his cards hidden in his hand. 

Wolverine took a few steps closer. Suddenly his nose twitched and the smile vanished from his face. Sniffing the air again he picked up a new scent on Gambit. A scent he knew all to well. Marie. The other smells he caught mingling with her scent made his blood race with barely suppressed rage.

"You. Me. Danger Room. Now." he ground out.

Roughly pushing Gambit aside Wolverine stormed down to the Danger Room. Sighing, Gambit resigned himself to the situation he'd gotten himself into. Quickly he changed into a pair of jogging pants. If he was going to have it out with Wolverine he wanted to be able to move fast. Gambit swore to himself. It was going be a long night.

***  


The next morning the X-Men were gathered around the table for breakfast. As they all sat around joking and talking, they heard someone coming into the kitchen. The table fell silent as a slightly worse for wear Gambit stumbled in. 

"Remy!" Marie stared at the long scratch down Gambit's left cheek. Jean got up from the table and went to look at it. Gambit obediently stood there and let the doctor examine his face.

"It's not very deep, just keep it clean and it should be fine" Jean said after a moment.

"What happened?" Rogue asked with concern. She got up from the table and went to stand in front of Gambit.

As if on cue, Wolverine walked into the kitchen. When his eyes fell on Gambit both men stiffened. Wolverine snorted and abruptly left the kitchen.

Knowing looks passed around the table as Marie confusedly looked from the scratched Gambit to the retreating Wolverine. Suddenly it dawned on her what must have happened. She fixed Gambit with a stern gaze. "Remy, ya'll shouldn't be fightin' with Wolverine. He's just goadin' you into a fight because you embarrassed him that day you came here. Don't let him get to you."

As Marie rambled on, Gambit watched her with a bemused look on his face. She really had no idea what his fight last night with Logan had been about. Good naturedly, he allowed her to finish her lecture.

"Gambit sorry Chere. It won happen again." 

Marie had the distinct impression that she was missing something. That sparkle in Gambit's eye made her think he was laughing at her. Irritated, but temporarily satisfied, Marie suddenly realized how close to Gambit she was standing. Memories of last night's kiss paraded through her mind and she abruptly stepped back.

"Well, Ah gotta go get ready for mah trainin' session." Marie said quickly. She excused herself and hurried out of the kitchen. She had to find Wolverine.

***  


Wolverine was definitely easier to find when he was mad, Marie decided. She was walking through the woods, following a path that looked like a weed whacker had been put to the trees. At the end of the trail she found Logan, claws extended, breathing heavily and looking around.

"Hey, Logan."

Wolverine whipped around so fast Marie shrieked in surprise. For a moment they both just stared wide-eyed at one another. Then Marie recovered.

"You jerk!" She smacked his shoulder. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Wolverine just looked at her with a bewildered expression on his face. She had followed him out here when he was working off some steam. She had snuck up on him. She had startled him. And yet he was the one who got smacked for giving her a heart attack? Wolverine was sure this was the result of some female train of logic that he would do well to just walk away from.

Marie was watching a rainbow of emotions cross Wolverine's features. First confusion, then concentration, then knowing, and now he had a satisfied smirk on his face.

"What're you smilin' at?"

Wolverine quickly sobered up. No need to piss her off. "What're you doin' out here darlin'?"

"Lookin' for you."

"Why?"

Marie considered her answer carefully before responding_. I want you to kiss me like Gambit did. I want you to see me like he does. I want some sign that you feel the way about me that I do about you._

"Marie?"

"Huh?"

"Why were you lookin' for me?"

"Oh . . . Ah wanted ta know if you were ready to start our trainin'."

Wolverine scanned her face. He knew she'd been thinking of something serious. Her face had gotten that distant almost upset look. Maybe she was still upset about the battle. Understanding dawned on Wolverine- that's why she wanted to train. She was feeling vulnerable from seeing Ms. Marvel's mortality.

"Of course, darlin'," he said kindly. "Gimme twenty minutes and meet me in the Danger Room." He reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze before turning and walking back towards the mansion.

Marie stood there deep in thought as she watched his retreating figure. The look in his eyes had been so warm; she wondered what he was thinking? He was calling her 'darlin' instead of 'kid'. Maybe he felt something for her. Marie felt her hopes rising, but then frowned. If he was feeling something, it was probably just going to turn into some protective urge again. _No_, Marie decided. This time she would give those warm feelings he seemed to be having towards her a positive way to show themselves. If Gambit could be attracted to her, dammit, so could Wolverine. She would not be ignored today. She was going to make Wolverine see her as a woman if it killed her.

***

Looking at the clock, Marie realized she had gotten dressed in record time. She had five minutes to meet Logan in the Danger Room. Marie checked her reflection in the mirror one more time. Perfect. She was wearing a sheer black body stocking with a green mid-drift tank top and matching short shorts. Every curve was highlighted and the see through material of the body stocking protected Wolverine from her powers without denying him the sight of her skin. Nodding with satisfaction, Marie hurried down to the Danger Room. Time to get aggressive.

***

****

One hour later:

Wolverine was getting pissed. He had come to this training session in full protector mode. He was going give Marie back a sense of security by teaching her to defend herself. He was going be there for her if she got emotional. In short, he was going to make her all better.

To his consternation, Marie seemed to be doing everything she could to make his task difficult. First there was the outfit. Snorting as he dodged another half-hearted punch, Wolverine looked down at her ensemble. That sheer thingy she was wearing wouldn't last two seconds in battle. It really wasn't even up to a training session. One little nick and that thing would unravel in seconds. When he'd attempted to point this out to her, she'd looked like she was about to say something and changed her mind. Instead she just shrugged, so he dropped it.

As if that wasn't bad enough, her form was horrible. No matter how many times he told her to stay out of her opponent's reach she always ended up in his arms or pressed against his body. Not to mention her attention span was atrocious. 

Finally, Wolverine had had enough. Escaping once more from the tangle of bodies Marie had managed to get them in, he stepped back and then dove right for her. Caught off guard -again - Marie and Logan tumbled to the floor. Wolverine rolled them over so he was lying on top of her. From his vantage point he glared down at her.

"Marie."

"Yeah, Logan?" Marie asked breathlessly. She strained to breathe properly as she reveled in the feel of his firmly muscled body pressed against hers.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Temporarily confused, Marie focused her attention back to his words. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Wolverine rolled his eyes.

"You're not even trying!" he exclaimed in frustration. "I tell you to stay out of reach and you practically hug me! Your attention is never on the fight. Christ Marie . . ." As he was rambling on Wolverine suddenly noticed something. Trailing off he double-checked to make sure he was right. In a combination of shock and dismay he looked down at Marie. Unless his nose was wrong, and it was never wrong, Marie was enjoying this in a very un-Marie-like way. As Logan looked down at her, her eyes softened and she shifted underneath him. That little movement made certain things stir low on his body and he instantly sprang to his feet. Backing away a few steps very quickly, he looked down and contemplated Marie. Looking him in the eye, Marie slowly got to her feet and began walking towards him. Wolverine definitely knew that look and it did NOT belong on Marie's face.

"Marie I . . ."

Marie listened calmly and kept coming closer. Slipping her arms around his neck she waited expectantly.

"Marie, no. No." Wolverine hastily moved her arms down from his neck. He placed them at her side and stepped back. "Marie, this isn't right. I know you have feelings for me, but it's just a crush, it'll pass. You probably just have me in your head still. Believe me this isn't what you want." He began to fall silent as he watched her features go from confusion, to understanding, to hurt, to embarrassment, and finally – to anger. 

"How dare you," she whispered hoarsely with barely suppressed rage. "Who do you think you are to tell me what Ah feel? Ah'm twenty years old Logan! Ah am not a kid anymore! Ah do not have a crush! Ah care about you, you asshole!" Her voice rose with every syllable, her humiliation completely giving way to anger.

Wolverine stared at her like she'd grown a third head.

"Marie, this isn't right. You're too young . . ."

"If you say that again Ah'll scream! Ah've got all the memories of a seventy-year-old man who lived through the Holocaust and tried to take over the world! Not to mention YOU. Ah'd say we're even!"

"Marie, how am I supposed to react to this?"

"React? React however you fucking feel like, Logan! It doesn't matter. All that matters is how you feel about me." Desperately she reached a hand out to touch his face but he caught it in his before she could touch him.

"I don't know, Marie." Overwhelmed, he looked down at her. At a loss for words he abruptly turned and left the Danger Room.

***

"You an idiot, Wolverine." Gambit whispered to himself. From his vantage point in the Danger Room's observation booth, he watched Wolverine leave. Safely hidden behind the one-way mirror he saw Marie stare after him in shock. Then, slowly sinking to her knees, she gazed at an invisible spot on the floor. Gambit couldn't see her very well, but he knew she was crying.

Gambit shook his head. The man was a coward. Gambit knew what was going through Wolverine's mind. Hopefully when Wolverine finally figured it out it would be too late. Imagine, turning down Marie. How could he? She was smart, sweet, sexy . . .

_Snap out of it Remy. She could be de enemy remember?_

Sighing, Gambit watched as Marie gathered herself up and left. Seeing her slumped shoulders and weary stance he felt a tremendous urge to go to her. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything was okay. Tell her what a fool Wolverine was for walking away. Still, he knew Wolverine was still fresh in her mind and she wouldn't be ready to talk for a while. _And anyway, she could be an enemy_ he reminded himself.

Leaving the observation booth, Gambit resigned himself to wait till tomorrow. As he went to his room he tried to ignore the voice in his head that was telling him he was jealous.

***

The next day the whole mansion seemed very quiet. Gambit noticed everyone seemed to be avoiding Marie. Concerned, he saw Storm in the lounge and went to speak with her.

"Stormy?"

"Do not call me that, Remy," she chastised him. "What is on your mind?"

"Why everybody so quiet? Why dey avoidin' Marie?"

Storm sighed. "Wolverine has left us once again. He left without saying a word to anyone. I believe he left a note for Marie. She is very upset."

"Gambit don understand. What's de story between dos two?"

Storm regarded him silently for a moment. Finally, she took a deep breath and gestured for him to take a seat. Gambit obliged and she began.

"I do not know how much you were told about the events that transpired four years ago." At his questioning look she decided to start at the beginning. "The X-Men found Wolverine in the forest, under attack. He had Marie with him, but at this point she was simply a hitchhiker. We saved them and brought them both here. Magneto at the time was trying to turn all humans into mutants with a giant magnetic machine. We thought he was after Wolverine to aid him in his plan, but we were wrong. He had been after Marie. We eventually defeated him but not before great harm had come to Marie. Wolverine, in an attempt to save her life, touched her to allow her to absorb his healing factor." 

_No wonder de bastard healed so quickly,_ Gambit thought, remembering their fight in the Danger Room.

"This was the second time she absorbed him and once again, he succeeded in saving her life, but a side effect was Marie now had him in her head. After he recovered he gave her his dogtags and left with the promise that he would return for them and her. He told her he would always protect her. Unfortunately, Marie had developed feelings for him. When he left, she was devastated. Then he returned. I had hoped she was over him, but apparently her feelings have remained much the same. I fear this time, his leaving will be all the more difficult for her to deal with."

Gambit was angry. "How could he do dis t' her? Again?"

Storm shook her head sadly. "I am afraid Wolverine still sees her as a child. He cannot or will not see her as an object of romance."

"His loss."

"Indeed." After a moment, Storm looked up at Remy. He was lost in his own thoughts. "Remy?"

"Hmmm? Oh, 'tanks Stormy. If y' would excuse me, Gambit got some 'ting t' do."

"Of course. And do not call me Stormy."

***

Marie was lying on her bed with her face buried in her pillows. He had left again. And it was all her fault. How could she have been so stupid? She'd practically put a gun to his head and demanded he love her. She pressed her face further into the pillow. Her anger had all melted away and left her to wallow in humiliation and rejection. Not wanting to face the pain anymore, Marie retreated into her subconscious.

***

"Hey buddy, you ok?" 

Wolverine looked up at the concerned bartender.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

Uncertain, the bartender decided to let him be. 

Logan took another swig of his beer. He was desperately trying to drown that little voice in his head. It was that damn little voice that whispered that he was a moron for leaving. He was trying to convince himself that he wasn't being a coward. He hadn't left because he couldn't handle it, he'd left for Marie's own good. She didn't really want him, it was just a crush. He was too old for her, whether she'd admit it or not. No, he was definitely not going back until he was sure she'd come to her senses.

On the stool next to Logan, another mutant sat with a beer. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but being a telepath wasn't always easy. She was only catching bits and pieces of his thoughts but one thing was certain. This guy had some chick named Marie, on the brain. As she watched him down another beer, the mutant wondered when he would face the music and follow his heart.

***

As Marie drifted on warm waves of nothingness she began to become aware of a voice calling her. Slowly she raised her head. Grey mists swirled around inside her head as her mind's landscape started to take a form. She was in some kind of bar. All around her the people she'd absorbed were sitting at tables, watching her. Cody smiled shyly as his image flickered. As a matter of fact all of them were flickering or fading in and out. Magneto watched her over the rim of his glass. His steely eyes unnerved Marie even though his body was nearly transparent. Logan was no where to be found. Just when Marie thought she was going to run, she heard a voice call to her again. Turning around she saw Carol Danvers walking towards her. Unlike the others, Carol's image was vibrant and real. She walked up to Marie and sat down next to her.

__

Hello Marie.

Hi Carol. Marie looked at her carefully, searching for any signs of anger. Carol noticed and gave her a kind smile. 

__

Marie, I told you before, stop feeling sorry for me. And stop feeling guilty. You did what I asked and because of you those mutants at that community center got another chance at life. I have no regrets about that and neither should you. Marie gave her a small smile. Carol looked concerned. 

__

Cheer up Marie.

Ah'm sorry Carol. Ah don't think Ah'm gonna be cheery again anytime soon.

Logan?

Yeah. He left again and it's all mah fault.

Marie I know what happened and it is not your fault. I know you probably don't want to hear this but he'll come back. Wolverine is not much for dealing maturely with his feelings, it just takes him a while longer than a normal person. 

So what do ah do till then.

You could always learn to control your powers.

Marie stared at her. Had she just heard right?

__

Did you say control mah powers?

Yes. I've been looking through your memories and I've given your powers a lot of thought. Marie, your first experience with your powers was very devastating. You hurt someone you loved very much. Did you ever try touching anyone after that?

NO! Ah never wanted to go through that again. Ah don't wanna hurt people.

But that's just it. Because that one experience was so horrible you've convinced yourself that the next time you touch someone it will inevitably turn out the same way.

So, you're sayin' if Ah believed Ah could control them then Ah could?

Carol chose her next words carefully. _Unfortunately I don't think it will be that easy. Your mind has been conditioned with your paranoia. As soon as you feel skin to skin contact you'll flash back to Cody and your powers will kick in to re-enact that memory._

So what can ah do?

Well, I was thinking, now that my mind has been completely absorbed into yours, maybe I can integrate a pleasant memory from my mind with your unpleasant memory from Cody and that way your reaction won't be severe enough to activate your powers.

You really think that'll work?

Well, it won't be easy. You'll have to practice a little at a time so you don't panic when you touch someone. And you'll have to try and maintain happy thoughts when you are touching someone. Negative emotions might activate your powers.

Marie thought about that. How am Ah gonna practice?

__

I don't know Marie. Is there anyone you trust who would be willing to help you?

Marie thought about that. There was someone. No, she couldn't. Not after what happened. Then again . . . 

__

Ah think Ah know someone.

Carol smiled. _Well, what are you waiting for?_ Slowly, Marie smiled too. She reached over and gave Carol a hug. Ms. Marvel returned the hug happily.

__

All right. Ah'll do it.

I'm here if you need me.

Thanks Carol.

Waving good-bye to Carol, Marie began to rise back up through her mind. As she sat up, she was surprised to find she wasn't in her room anymore. It was dark and she could barely make out the metal cabinets of the Med. bay. As Marie tried to get her bearings she realized she wasn't alone. Next to her bed, Gambit was sitting in a chair with his head resting on the sheets. The gentle rise and fall of his chest let Marie know he was sleeping. 

For a while she just sat there, puzzling. Then she realized that someone must have found her when she was in her subconscious and thought she was hurt. Her heart swelled as it occurred to her that Gambit was here watching over her. 

Suddenly a stab of panic shot through her. What if Jean or the Professor had scanned her mind? What if they knew about Carol? Marie tried to calm down. If they knew now, there was nothing she could do about it. It was best if she just went on with her plan. 

Making sure Gambit was still sleeping, Marie gently slipped out of the bed. Padding across the floor, she left the Med. bay and went up to her room. Looking at the clock she saw that it was only midnight. Good, she would still be awake. Marie quickly got out of the bed and went over to the window. She was a little nervous. She'd never really used Ms. Marvel's flying abilities, but she still had Carol's knowledge of how to use them. Opening the window she tested them a little by rising a few inches off the ground. As she got her bearings, Marie flew out into the sky. Staying low among the tree tops so she wouldn't be seen, she headed towards the one person she knew would help her.

***

Gambit watched through the window as Marie flew out into the sky. He hadn't become the Prince of Thieves by being a heavy sleeper. As he watched Marie go, he felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He didn't claim to know everything about Marie, but he did know she couldn't fly. And even more regrettably - he knew Ms. Marvel did. Had, he corrected himself grimly. Ms. Marvel didn't fly anymore.

Gambit walked back to his room with a heavy heart. He hadn't wanted to believe it. Throughout all of his doubts, all of his time spent with her, he hadn't wanted to believe it. How could this sweet, shy, caring woman be a killer? No, Gambit thought stubbornly. She couldn't be a killer. There had to be a logical explanation for everything. Gambit set his mind with grim determination. He was going to get some answers, and this time nothing was going to stop him.  


***

Marie finally arrived at her destination. Walking into the hotel, she passed the front desk and headed straight for the stairs. Going up to the second floor, she looked around and found room 306. This was her. 

Marie knocked on the door and a woman answered almost immediately. She was in her thirties with dark her and piercing black eyes. She had high cheekbones that gave her a look of grace, but the look in her eyes clearly marked her as someone you did not want to mess with. She opened the door just a crack and looked out. When she saw Marie a soft smile graced her lips. Moving to the side she opened the door wider and motioned for Marie to come in. Marie smiled and stepped inside. As the woman closed the door behind them Marie turned and watched as the woman's features melted away to reveal sapphire blue skin and bright yellow eyes. She looked at Marie. "Hello, child."

Marie took a deep breath. "Hello mama."


	5. Chapter 5

The two women hugged one another. "I've missed you, daughter."

"Ah've missed you too mama."

Mystique held Marie at arms length. "Why has it taken you so long to come and see me? I've sent you letters every time I switch hotels, yet I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Ah know mama," Marie said, wincing at the hurt look in Mystique's eyes. "Things have been really crazy though, Ah just couldn't get away."

"It's all right, honey. Come in and make yourself comfortable. Would you like some tea?" Marie grinned at the harmless offer coming from a mutant terrorist.

"No thanks, Mama." She bit her lip, wondering how to proceed. "Mama?"

"Yes?" Mystiques asked as she went into the kitchen to put the tea on the stove.

"There's something Ah need to ask you. A favor."

Mystique stopped what she was doing as she heard the serious tone in her daughter's voice. Slowly, she walked out of the kitchen and sat down next to Marie. Marie took a deep breath and told Mystique everything. She told her about the battle, about Ms. Marvel in her head, and finally about Carol's idea about her powers. Mystique remained silent as Marie talked, but inside, her mind was spinning with ideas. She knew Marie was asking her if she would let her practice on her. Mystique was touched that Marie had come to her for help. She was almost moved to tears that Marie would tell her all these things that not even one of the X-Men knew about. If she were to admit the truth, there was also a small part of her that hoped that, during the practice, Marie would absorb some of Mystique's personality. She always secretly hoped Marie would leave the X-Men and join her for good. Maybe . . . No, Mystique thought sadly. Even though she wanted Marie to join her she would never break the obvious trust her daughter put in her. 

As Marie finished her story, Mystique smiled and gave her a hug. "Of course I'll help you, daughter."

Marie almost laughed with relief as she hugged her back. "Thank you, Mama," she whispered. 

"Now," Mystiques said, sitting back and slipping into business mode. "How shall we begin?"

***

****

Two Weeks Later:

Marie woke up the next morning with a huge smile on her face. Stretching lazily, she rolled over to look at the bright sunlight streaming in through her window. She'd done it. Last night she and Mystique had been up till two in the morning, working on her control and she had finally mastered it. She could touch. Marie leapt out of bed and began to get dressed. This was going to be the best day of her life.

***

Gambit groaned as the sunlight shone through his window. Red on black eyes squinted in the bright light as his mind struggled to shake off the last vestiges of sleep. He hadn't gotten in until nearly five o' clock in the morning last night. Still it would all be worth it when he got his information. 

Two weeks ago he had followed Marie on one of her secret rendezvous. To his dismay, he had found she was sneaking out to visit a known mutant terrorist called Mystique. His heart had wrenched at his discovery. Against his better judgment he had grown very attached to the young woman with the poisonous skin. His daily flirtations with her had become something to look forward to and he was always amused with her shy reactions to his advances. For as long as he could remember, Gambit had always been a lady's man and he knew he could have any woman he wanted. Marie had presented him with a new challenge and he'd rose to it eagerly. The knowledge that she had killed a fellow mutant and was even now cavorting with a terrorist, pained him deeper than he liked to contemplate. 

Still, despite his growing fondness for Rogue, he had forced himself to face reality. Turning to connections he'd thought he'd left behind for good, he had called up one of his sources to get information about the girl. For two weeks he had turned up nothing, all the while continuing to get closer to Rogue. Finally, last night, he turned to his last remaining source. He hadn't wanted to have to take it that far, but he had to know everything he could. Tonight he would have all the information he could get about Marie. In the meantime he resigned himself to his game of cat and mouse. Though he was beginning to doubt he would enjoy winning. 

***

Marie gave herself a final once over in the mirror in her bedroom. Short jean shorts with a clingy red halter-top showed off all of her curves as well as more skin than she had ever dreamed of showing. With an approving look at her reflection Marie headed out into the hallway. 

As she stepped out of her room, she noticed Gambit heading her way. She grinned at the double take he did as he noticed her outfit. In the short time he'd been here Gambit had gotten to know Marie's paranoia about her skin better than anyone. As he came closer, she leaned back against the wall.

"Hey, Shugah."

"Bonjour, Chere." He raised a questioning eyebrow at her ensemble. Marie smiled wider. Slowly understanding seemed to dawn on Gambit's face. "You know somethin' Gambit don' chere?"

Marie began to wonder if her smile was going to split her face. She was so happy and so excited she couldn't even speak. Finally, she let the moment carry her away. Reaching a bare hand up she lightly ran her finger down Gambit's cheek. Gambit's eyes widened as he realized nothing was happening. 

"What's dis supposed to mean to me, Chere?" He looked down at her with a suggestive look in his eyes. Marie felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed up at him. He was staring at her so intently. Suddenly flustered, Marie looked down and began to lower her hand from his face, but Gambit took her hand in his. Slowly he entwined his fingers around hers, his other arm drawing her body closer to his. His eyes shone with amusement as Marie gasped a little. Her pulse began to race as his face tilted down towards hers.

"Gambit would be honored to be the first to congratulate you Mademoiselle," he whispered, with his lips a hair's breadth away from her own. Before Marie could react his mouth claimed hers in a gentle kiss that brought memories of their first day together crashing through Marie's mind. Her head spun in dizzying circles. Nothing she had ever experienced could have prepared her for this. It had been so long since she had felt another's skin without her fear permeating her mind. She'd forgotten how wonderful it felt. His lips were so soft against hers, and Marie moaned and leaned into the kiss, unconsciously pressing her body closer to Gambit's. Feverishly she tried to concentrate on the feel of his lips sliding against hers, committing it to memory. Her reaction spurred Gambit on and his arms tightened around her as he backed her up against the wall. Her hands reached up to tangle in his hair and her mouth parted to allow him better access. Gambit groaned as his body began to heat up from the kiss. He accepted her invitation to deepen it, and slid his tongue in to caress hers. Marie's knees felt weak and if it weren't for Gambit's body pressing her to the wall she thought she would slide to the ground. Her body felt warm and a pleasant buzzing sensation overwhelmed her senses. Some part of Marie's brain told her that there was more but she had no idea what. Before she could think on it anymore, she felt Gambit freeze just as she heard a gasp from a few feet away. Breaking away from the kiss, Gambit and Marie both looked up to see Jean standing in the hallway. Smoothly Gambit stepped back from Marie as they both turned to face Jean. 

With an excited gleam in her eyes, the telepathic doctor suddenly rushed forward to hug Marie. Despite her disappointment at the interruption, Marie relished the hug, dwelling in the fact that she no longer had to be constantly on her guard for any accidental skin-to-skin contact. It was a full minute before either woman broke from the hug. When they did Jean just looked at Marie, too happy to speak. Marie found herself in the same position, and Gambit had to smile too at the joy on both their faces. Finally Jean couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing Marie by the arm she raced down the stairs with her. Gambit ambled along behind them as they rushed to tell the rest of the team the news.

***

It wasn't long until Jubilee and Kitty came bursting into the mansion. Rogue had called them with the news, and the two friends had wasted no time in getting there to congratulate her. Now all three of them were sitting on her bed in Rogue's room, deep in conversation. 

"Oh Rogue, we're so proud of you!" Kitty gushed.

"Yeah, Roguie, it's about time! I guess all you needed was the right motivation." Jubilee waggled her eyebrows at Rogue. Marie laughed. 

"Ah take it ya'll saw Remy?"

Jubilee elbowed Kitty. "Here that? _Remy,_ she calls him."

"Oh stop it!" Rogue laughed. She smiled and looked at them both for a minute. "Dang, Ah've missed ya'll so much. Ya'll won't believe everything that's happened." Quickly, Marie caught her friends up on everything that had happened, with Logan leaving, and her increasingly intimate relationship with Remy. Guiltily, Marie left out everything about Carol Danvers. She still wasn't ready to talk about that with anyone.

Kitty and Jubilee were both sympathetic when they heard about Logan's second leaving. Marie saw the look they exchanged when she told them about how she and Gambit had grown so close. She suspected they were more than a little surprised to hear her say anything romantic about anyone besides Logan. _They'll get used to it_, she told herself, _Ah know Ah sure am_. With a smile, she tuned back in to her friends as they each took turns catching her up on their own lives. As Jubilee grabbed her arm to whisper something in her ear, Marie almost cried tears of happiness. As she felt Jubilee's bare hand on her own bare arm, a warm feeling rushed through her. For the first time in her life, she felt she belonged.

***

"Master, you wished to see me?" Lucien bowed his head as he kneeled beside the ominous throne in the center of the room. On the seat of the throne a caped figure sat, still as death. Around the room large tanks scattered the floor. Lucien shuddered as he tried to keep his eyes averted from the giant test tubes. Inside each one, bodies floated in some sort of liquid - experiments for the menacing man who sat on the throne. 

Slowly the figure turned to face him and Lucien fought back a gasp. No matter how many times he saw him, Lucien's heart refused to acknowledge that this thing was human. 

__

No, not human he corrected himself. _A mutant_. Still even for a mutant he was an imposing figure. His face was a stark pasty white. Black lips outlined a mouth filled with tiny razor sharp teeth. A red diamond in the center of his forehead was the only color in his face, matched by the glowing red of his pupil-less eyes. His hair was the same jet black as his lips, cut short around his ghostly face. His body was encased in a thick black rubber material with a cape of black ribbons spilling over broad shoulders and down his back. Lucien noticed he resembled nothing so much as Transylvania's infamous Count Dracula. 

As his servant cowered beside him, the man known as Mr. Sinister smiled grimly. Lucien was a member of the Assassin's Guild in New Orleans. He was one of the many guild members who reported to Sinister.

"I believe you have news for me, Lucien. Something about my lost lamb?"

Lucien shook slightly. "Yes, Master. The thief has joined the ranks of the X-Men. My people have been watching him in accordance with your orders."

"And?" Mr. Sinister urged impatiently.

"When he first joined the team he severed all his old ties. Then after only a short time, he began to communicate with old contacts. He's been asking around about a woman. Apparently he's searching her background for some sort of wrong she committed."

"What kind of wrong?"

"I don't know Master. All my spies were able to discern was that he suspects her of the murder of one of the X-Men's comrades. We do not know whom, nor do we know what possible motive he could suspect her of having. The woman has been with the X-Men for a little more than four years."

"What is the name of this woman?"

"I believe she goes by 'Rogue', Master."

"Rogue?" Mr. Sinister thought for a moment. Suddenly a spark lit his hellish eyes. He turned a steady look on Lucien. "Would this woman by any chance be around the age of twenty with the power to drain another's life force with a mere touch of skin to skin?" 

"Yes, Master. That agrees with our information." Lucien could not hold back a shudder at the look of delight that crossed his master's features.

"Hear me well, Lucien. You are to find out when the thief expects his information to arrive and intercept it. Instead, I want the following information given to him in its place. Listen carefully."

***

That night Gambit waited for Rogue to leave with Jubilee and Kitty. Her two friends were returning to college tomorrow, and the three had decided to go out to celebrate Rogue had wanted Gambit to come to, but he had declined saying he wanted them to have their girls' night out. The touched smile on Rogue's face had sent prickles of guilt running all over Gambit. Still, he had to know. 

Tonight he would get his information. He had made a promise to himself that if this last attempt turned up no negative information on Rogue, he was going to be completely honest with her and just ask her about the glove and Ms. Marvel. He ignored the voice in his head that said that's what he should have done from the start. Leaving the mansion, Gambit jumped on his bike and rode to the rendezvous. 

When he arrived at the seedy out-of-the-way bar, he slipped into a booth in a dark corner of the room. From this vantage point he could see the whole bar without being seen himself. He allowed his empathic sense to scan the bar, searching for any high range emotions that may signify danger. As a thief his empathic sense had been invaluable. It had allowed him to tell when someone was alert or tired, clumsy enough to make a mistake or pissed enough to do something stupid. Now he simply used it to remain aware of any danger that may be near. Suddenly, a man entered the bar. Nonchalantly looking around he sauntered back and slipped into the booth beside Gambit. Gambit remained quiet, waiting for the other man to begin. Finally, the man turned to face him and smiled.

"Rob! How've y' been y' old dog!"

Playing along, Gambit laughed. "Fine, Luke. How's y' wife?"

"She's fine. Actually, she asked me to give you these to give to Theresa. They're pictures she took at you kids' wedding." Gambit smiled easily as he accepted the large manila envelope. 

"'Tanks."

"Well, buddy, I got t' be goin'. Monique warned me not t' stay out all night like we did last time. Y' know how she gets." They both laughed and said their good-byes. Gambit waited five minutes for the other man to leave before getting up and heading home. He had to fight his urge to open the envelope right away. This was not the place to open sensitive information. 

***

Wolverine took a hit off of his cigar. As he exhaled, he watch the aromatic smoke curl upwards toward the sky. _When did life get so damn complicated?_ His brows knitted together as the same question he'd been asking himself since he left the mansion a second time paraded around in his head. _What was he going to do about Marie?_ A muffled noise floated out to the balcony he was standing on as his latest conquest stirred in her sleep in the bedroom behind him. Wolverine waited until her breathing was even once again before gathering his things and making a stealthy exit.

As he rode his motorcycle off into the distance he thought back on the young woman waiting for him back at the mansion. _How do I feel about her?_

It seemed like such a stupid question. If someone had asked him how he felt about Marie a month ago he would have had an easy answer for them. She was a good kid and he liked her a lot. When he'd come home they had gotten real close, what with him in her head and all, and life was good. If you really tortured him he might even have said he loved her. But never in a million years would he have meant romantic love. Romance and Marie just never meshed in his head. So one could imagine what effect his little Marie grinding herself against him in the Danger Room was having on his mind. Had he missed something? Had something changed somewhere? He didn't know, but he sure as hell was going to find out.

Making up his mind Logan turned onto the highway leading toward the mansion. He was going to go back, and dammit, he was going to straighten this whole mess out. Because regardless of how he or Marie might feel, he did care about her and he wanted to be there for her. After all, who knows what kind of trouble she could get into in his absence?

***

"Eeep!" Marie squealed as she almost fell out of the cab. Kitty giggled hysterically as she rolled around the back seat. Marie laughed and reached in to pull her out. As they held on to each other and teetered unsteadily in the driveway, Jubilee stumbled out and began to talk to the amused cab driver.

"Thank you shur," she slurred. "We are mush obliged. Keep the tip." She punctuated the end of her spiel with a drunken hiccup. The cabbie chuckled and drove off, leaving the three mutants to slowly make their way up to the door.

"Ah'm sho happy y' two are 'ere." Marie mumbled. "Tonight was the besh night of mah life! Y' no afraid t' touch me any more!" 

"Touch, touch, touch!" Kitty chanted poking Marie's bare cheek. They all abruptly dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"N-no," Jubilee held up a wavering hand. "Ony Gammit ken toush her! She likesh that!" Marie nodded empathically. 

"Heesh very good." She agreed.

Finally they all got into the mansion. They said their goodnights and each of them stumbled to their own rooms. 

As Marie meandered down the hallway, she noticed the light was on in Gambit's room. Grinning, she made her way over to his door and opened it, almost falling over in the process. As she hung on to the door, snickering at her own clumsiness, she saw Gambit sitting on his bed surrounded by documents. The laughter died on her lips as he looked up and caught her eyes in his. 

"Whass wrong?" Marie asked, trying to think past the alcoholic haze in her mind.

"Is dere some 'ting you'd like t' tell me, Chere?" Gambit asked severely. He had just received all the information he had been waiting for and his worst suspicions had been confirmed. The knowledge he now possessed caused a dull ache in his chest and if he had been a more emotional man he would be fighting off tears. As it was, his hurt was turning into anger with her for deceiving him. He wanted nothing more than to confront her now. However, he realized it would probably be best to wait until Rogue sobered up.

"Ah don't think so, Shugah. Why?" Marie was having a hard time concentrating with the buzz still muddling her mind, but at least her language was less slurred. In a far corner of her consciousness Marie noted that those unusual eyes of his, which she usually found so sexy, could also be quite unsettling when an unfriendly look rested in their depths. Her answer did not seem to please him and she fought the urge to fidget as his jaw tightened. _He couldn't possibly know._

Gambit let out a breath he'd been holding. Gathering up his papers, he put them in a knapsack and stood up. "Gambit got t' go into de city, Chere. See y' in de mornin'." As much as he was hurting, Gambit didn't want Marie to become too suspicious. Still, he couldn't bear to be around her now. Forcing himself to give her a kiss on his way out, he made his way out of the mansion.

Marie watched him go. For a moment she considered going after him but her head was beginning to spin again. Stumbling back to her own room she collapsed on her bed and fell into an alcohol-induced slumber.

NOTE: I am now accepting votes for who you all want to see Rogue end up with. Preference will be given to people who include a helpful review with their vote. Helpful meaning: hints on how to improve story, pointing out logic or character flaws, or complimenting specific things in the story.


	6. Chapter 6

Gambit walked down the street with his hands in his pockets. It was a constant fight for him not to turn around and go back to the X-Mansion. He knew if he hurried, he might even make it there before Rogue woke up and found the note.

He sighed and shook his head. Life just wouldn't cut him a break. He'd done so much wrong in his life, he feared he'd never be able to atone. He would never be able to look in the mirror without despising the face that looked back at him. Joining the X-Men had seemed like the perfect absolution. He would dedicate his life to peace, instead of war. No more Prince of Thieves, no more pawn of Satan. Just Gambit, the X-Man.

Gambit snorted. X-Man. He'd never make it. Within seconds after joining, he'd fallen for some femme. A pair of soft brown eyes had looked into his soul and he'd been a lovesick puppy. The perfect chance at redemption, and he'd passed on it. He could have been a hero. Turned in a traitor, maybe saved the lives of countless students and mutants. But he couldn't do it.

The irony really was quite amusing. He'd romanced so many women in his life. So many times, he'd preyed upon their vulnerability to his charm, his looks. And now a woman, four years his junior, had wrapped him around her little finger. Even now, Gambit couldn't forget the fear in her eyes when she'd been a prisoner in her own skin, her joy when she'd regained the ability to touch. She was so full of life, how could she not be what she seemed?

Well, he wasn't going to let his own weakness cause him to betray anyone anymore. He hadn't had the heart to turn her in to her teammates, but he still wasn't going to stay there. He refused to allow himself to be with a woman who was still entrapped in evil ways that he himself was still trying to escape.

Rogue could keep her masquerade, her facade. But she wouldn't keep him. He'd been used for the last time. 

Turning down another road, Gambit found himself in an area that was eerily familiar. Looking up, he saw a place from his past. Memories floated through Gambit's mind as he entered the old building. Years ago, he'd made a deal with the devil on this very spot. This was the place that started his life down a path of evil. Perhaps, if he wanted to start again on a new path, he must first remember how it all went wrong.

Suddenly, evil laughter rang through the rafters. Gambit spun around, but his kinetic sense didn't pick up any movement. All of a sudden a figure seemed to materialize out of the shadows. Gambit's face paled.

"You--" 

Before he could move, a plasma bolt shot out of the figure's fingers and hit Gambit square in the chest. As he drifted into unconsciousness, Gambit heard a voice from the figure, as it moved to stand over him.

"Welcome back, Remy. I knew you would come."

***

Marie woke up late the next morning. Her head hurt slightly and she winced as she remembered how much she'd had to drink last night. As she sat up, she consoled herself that it could have been worse. At least she didn't have to drive back to college, like Jubilee and Kitty did. Marie looked at the clock and saw that it was already 12:45. Jubilee and Kitty had probably left hours ago. She sighed and laid back down. 

As her arms fell to the side, Marie felt her hand graze a piece of paper. Curious, Marie rolled over, groping for the paper. After a moment, she grabbed it and sat up. Unfolding the small note, she began reading. As her mind processed the words, Marie felt her heart thump harder in her chest. 

Rogue,

Congratulations on your deception, Chere. You have managed to fool the X-Men. I blame myself for the pain I feel in my heart right now. I should have seen through the lies. Still, what can I say? You're good.

I knew about what you did to Ms. Marvel right away. Shame on you, Rogue, you left your glove beside the body. It's in the envelope under the covers, if you'd like it back.

Still, even I had no idea how deep the ruse went until last night. Imagine, for four years you've been stringing along the world's most powerful team of mutants. They eat out of your hand, Chere. Even the mighty Wolverine, who almost sacrificed his life for you, has no idea that you were truly in no danger. That's right, Chere. I know all about it.

Even after I followed you to Mystique's, I had no idea what the real story was. I half hoped she was blackmailing you. Imagine my surprise to find out she is your mother. Of course, knowing that, the rest of the information I received made much more sense. After all, who would believe that such a loving mother would sacrifice her own daughter on a giant machine?

Was it your idea's or Magneto's, Rogue? Who was it that designed a plan B? Whoever it was, my deepest respects. When Magneto's plan failed, it was certainly fortunate that you were able to infiltrate the X-Men, by pretending to be Magneto's victim instead of his accomplice. We both know that machine would not have truly hurt you.

By now, I suppose you're wondering why I didn't turn you in? Why I didn't go to the X-Men with that envelope of evidence. The answer, Chere? I don't know. All I know is when I think of you, my thoughts are of that vulnerable woman, who sat with me on the roof that first day I arrived. I think of how you felt in my arms, and the way you tasted when we kissed. And so I leave your secret safe under your covers, to do with as you choose.

Farewell, ma Chere and congratulations. It takes someone truly special to steal the heart of a thief.

Remy LeBeau

Unshed tears burned at Marie's eyes as she reached under her blanket to retrieve the envelope the note spoke of. As she looked through its contents, Marie flinched at the false, yet damning picture, the information painted. There were pictures of her going into Mystique's. Older pictures, of her as a child, in the shapeshifter's arms. A dark green glove that marked Rogue's last battle. As the evidence spread out around her, Marie made a decision.

Jumping out of bed, she quickly put all the evidence back in its envelope. Getting dressed quickly, she ran to her window. Impatiently scanning the yard to make sure no one was around, she launched herself into the sky. Like a speeding bullet she flew to her mother's hotel. She wasn't going to let him walk out of her life without a fight. She'd made that mistake with another, damned if it was going to happen again.

Going to the window, she flew out, heedless of anyone who may have been watching.

***

Mystique smiled when she opened the door. "Rogue! How nice to see you again so soon! How--"

"Mama," Rogue gasped as she walked in. "Ah need your help!"

"Of course, daughter." Mystique said, perturbed. "What's wrong?"

"It's Gambit. He's gone, and it's all mah fault."

"Who is this Gambit?"

"One of mah teammates. He's new."

"Why did he leave and why do you think it's your fault?"

Without a word, Rogue dropped the envelope and note on the couch. Mystique walked over and sat down. Her eyes narrowed as she read the noted and looked through the pictures.

She looked up at Rogue. "Someone had to give Gambit this information. Is there any reason anyone would want Gambit to suspect you of wrongdoing?"

"Ah don't think so. Ah can't imagine why anyone would care what Remy thought of me."

Mystique raised her eyebrows. "Remy?"

Rogue blushed. Comprehension dawned on Mystique. "You fancy this boy?"

"Oh, Mama, please can we stick to the subject."

"I thought you were taken with that cranky Canadian, Wolverine?"

"Mama, please, not now. Ah don't wanna talk about Logan."

Mystique didn't look satisfied, but she let the subject drop. "Well, it seems that whoever gave Gambit this information, succeeded in getting him to leave the team, so let's assume that was their goal. They'll want to make sure he doesn't come back." She thought for a moment. "If it was a misunderstanding of this information that made him leave, they'll also want to make sure you don't find him to correct things." She stood up. "Go back to the mansion and search the grounds. I'm almost positive whomever is responsible for this has been watching you."

Rogue nodded and gave her mother a hug. "Thanks, Mama."

"You're welcome, daughter."

As the door closed behind Rogue, Mystique frowned. Going to the closet, she grabbed her coat and left, morphing as she went.

***

Logan sped up a little faster as he saw the mansion come into view. He'd spent the whole ride thinking about what he was going to do and he still had no idea what he would say to Marie. Prepared to wing it, he pulled into the driveway -- and stopped short. Up in the sky, he saw his Marie flying towards the mansion. As she got over the forest, she stopped, as though she was searching for something in the trees. 

As her eyes scanned the ground, she noticed Logan standing in the driveway beside the bike. Even from this distance, Wolverine's keen eyesight could see her eyes widen in surprise. She quickly flew down to meet him.

"Logan!" 

"Hey, Marie. What the hell--"

"Ah'll explain everything later, Logan. Ah need you to help me."

Wolverine furrowed his eyebrows, but he nodded. As much as he wanted to know why Marie was suddenly able to fly, the urgent tone in her voice told him now was not the time to find out. "Name it."

"Someone's been watchin' me. Ah need to find them."

Wolverine felt a wave of protective anger. Suddenly, all business, he set out into the woods. Rogue flew ahead, searching the higher branches of the trees. 

Suddenly there was a shout and a roar. Rogue hurriedly turned back and flew to where she'd heard the noise. Standing in a clump of bushes, Wolverine was holding a man up by his shirt. Rogue gasped as she saw the knife protruding out of Wolverine's chest, where the man had stabbed him.

"Logan!"

"I'm all right." Wolverine ground out. "Unlike him."

The man shook in Wolverine's grip as his healing factor tried to heal around the knife. Rogue reached out, tentatively, and pulled the knife out. The man Wolverine was dangling off the ground watched in horror as the would closed up in seconds.

Rogue looked up at him. "Who sent you to spy on me?"

The man glared down at her, but refused to speak. 

Wolverine was about to change his mind when Rogue removed one of her gloves. "Ah don't have time for this. Ah asked you nicely. Now we do it the hard way." She reached up and grabbed the man's face. After a moment the man's eyes grew wide and then he sagged in Wolverine's grip and Logan dropped him. He turned and saw Rogue's eyes were squeezed shut, as she tried to find the information she was looking for. Suddenly her eyes shot open.

"Remy." She whispered. She turned to face Logan. "Logan, have you ever heard of Mr. Sinister?"

***

Gambit groaned as he regained consciousness. he felt like he was fighting his way back from a nightmare. That theater, that figure . . . Even now, chills ran down his arms as he remembered the voice that had followed him into blackness. Gambit tried to raise his hands to his face and found he couldn't lift his arms. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach as he realized he was chained down on a metal table.

"Non." he whispered.

Suddenly, there was a swish of air as a mechanical door slid open.

"Sinister." Remy spat.

Mr. Sinister smiled. "Hello, Remy. I trust you slept well?"

"What's goin' on? Gambit done workin' f' you."

"Yes, sadly you did mention something about never working for me again. However, even then I knew you would still be useful. I've been watching you, Remy. And I must say, you did not let me down."

Gambit narrowed his eyes, as he craned his neck to see what Sinister was doing. "What do you mean?"

"You have found me the perfect specimen for my research, dear boy. A mutant who can provide untold varieties of DNA."

He turned his head briefly to look at Gambit. Seeing the confused look on the Cajun's face, he sighed. "You never did think like a scientist. Imagine, Remy, I could feed her any number of mutants, creating a single strand of DNA with any combination of powers. The possibilities are mind numbing."

Gambit's face paled. "Rogue?"

Mr. Sinister grinned. "Now you're catching on. I must say though, leading me to this wonderful creature aside, you still fell short of my expectations. I had hoped that you would do the honorable thing, and take your envelope to the X-Men."

"You fed me dat information." Gambit whispered.

"Well of course, my boy. You don't expect me to waste my time defeating all those X-Men, when I can just arrange for the one I want to run off on her own. If you had only turned her in, you could have saved me all this trouble. Still, all can be forgiven."

"Never. I'm done wit you, Sinister. Gambit never help you hurt Rogue."

Sinister chuckled as he raised a syringe in the air. "You speak as if you had a choice." Gambit swallowed hard as Sinister injected the liquid into a tiny metal object. "After this little implant takes effect, you will serve me just as loyally as when you were indebted."

Gambit struggled against his restraints, but he knew it was useless. However, before Sinister could reach him, an alarm went off.

"Oh? Why my dear boy, it looks like you've managed to bring her to me after all. How wonderful." Putting the implant down, Sinister left the room.

Gambit waited until he was sure Sinister was gone. Then he flicked his hand and pulled a little wire out of his sleeve.

"Old habits die hard y' son of a bitch." he murmured. Quickly he set to work picking the lock. "Hope Gambit not too late."

***

Wolverine and Rogue cautiously made their way into the dingy building. Wolverine's senses were on heightened alert, as he searched for signs of danger. Rogue floated along about the ground. Wolverine glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You're gonna tell me how you're doin' that, later, right?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Rogue smiled. "Of course."

Suddenly, the smile left her face, as the floor dropped out from underneath them. Wolverine growled and tried to dig his claws into the wall. He stopped fifty feet down. Immediately Rogue moved to retrieve him when an energy cannon moved into position. Wolverine watched in horror from below as Marie was blasted out of his eyeshot by a stream of bright blue energy. 

"Marie!" Roaring in outrage, he began to claw his way up the wall. Suddenly the sides of the pit slid forward. Fear clutched at Wolverine as the pit closed off, leaving him hanging in darkness and separated from Marie.

***

Rogue winced as she sat up. That blast had come out of nowhere. She stood up and frowned down at her clothes. a huge hole revealed a glimpse of her bare stomach. Marie said a mental thank you to Ms. Marvel, for the nigh-invulnerability. 

Before she could fly back to the spot, Wolverine had disappeared under, a voice spoke to her from the corner.

"Greetings, Rogue. Welcome to my laboratory."

Rogue spun around to face the voice. She recognized him immediately from the image she had absorbed from the assassin's mind. "Mr. Sinister, I presume?" 

Mr. Sinister smiled. "I see you found my little spy. Ah well, he was expendable. Unlike you, my dear."

Rogue opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, but he leveled a hand at her and a plasma burst shot out. Rogue grunted as it hit her, knocking her against another wall.

"That, suh, is no way to treat a lady." She balled up her fists and flew at him full speed. Sinister watched her come. Just before she reached him, he threw a handful of powder into the air. Rogue couldn't stop in time and sailed right through the cloud. 

She fell out of the air, coughing. "What - what was that?" she choked.

"Never you mind, my dear." Sinister said, as he walked over and picked her up in his arms. Rogue weakly tried to reach for him, but the world seemed to spin around her. Struggling in vain, she finally succumbed to the blackness that overwhelmed her.

***

Gambit's heart was pumping furiously in his chest and he ran through the halls. There was a virtual labyrinth of passages in Sinister's headquarters. He broke into yet another room. 

As Gambit stood there for a moment, panting, his kinetic sense picked up movement. Listening closely, Gambit heard a scraping sound beneath the floor. 

"What do I got t' lose?" Gambit muttered. "Mon ami! Hang on!" A card slid out of Gambit's sleeve. He charged it and threw it at the ground where he heard the noise. As the false floor caved in, Gambit saw Wolverine claw his way out.

Wolverine's eyes scanned the room immediately, in search of Marie. Gambit held up a hand as the other man turned to him. 

"We don have time, Wolverine. Sinister is after Rogue." 

Wolverine growled. "She came here with me."

Gambit's face fell. "Mon dieu." he whispered. "He got her."

"Not fer long." Wolverine promised. Sniffing the air, he bolted in the direction of Marie's scent. Before they'd run ten feet, through the huge room, a door suddenly opened.

Wolverine stopped short. "Well I'll be." His claws slid from their sheaths. "Sabretooth."

"He's just a clone, Wolverine! He not de real 'ting!" Gambit shouted, preparing to charge a card.

"What do you think you're going to do with that card, Remy?"

Gambit watched as a woman stepped out from behind Sabretooth. 

"Vertigo. You remember Gambit's powers, eh?" He lifted his hand to throw the card.

The woman smiled. "Of course, Remy. But do you remember mine?" Gambit blinked as Vertigo raised her arms. Suddenly, the world seemed to ooze and spin around him. Dizzily, Gambit tried to focus, but he couldn't tell which way was up. 

Wolverine had looked at her also, and was shaking his head to get a grip on reality. He was saved the effort when Sabretooth roared and launched his body at Wolverine. Together, they tumbled to the floor, rolling in a snarling mass.

Gambit squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to fight off the effects of Vertigo's powers. His kinetic senses were going wild. Suddenly he heard another voice.

"Remy, you've returned to us. Oh, I hope you still have all those nasty feelings of self hatred and anger. They make my job so much easier." 

Gambit gritted his teeth. It was Malice. In a new clone body, too. If she got her hands on him, she could possess him and manipulate his negative emotions. Which he had plenty of, at the moment. Struggling to make sense out of Vertigo's topsy-turvy world, he felt Malice touch his shoulder. Gambit took his chance. He grabbed Malice's skirt and charged it. She screamed as her clothing and exploded, taking part of her lower body with it and knocking her backwards into Vertigo. With a grunt, Vertigo fell under Malice's bloody body.

Gambit got to his feet, fighting against the remaining nausea of Vertigo's powers. Charging a few more cards, he threw them back in her direction. The screams he heard told him they were out of the fight for good now. Gambit struggled not to feel satisfaction at their suffering. They weren't the same Marauders that had damned him.

Looking over, he saw Wolverine wrestling with Sabretooth. Gambit charged a card, but the two were too close, he couldn't get a clear shot. He watched as Sabretooth swiped at Wolverine. The smaller man flipped backwards, avoiding the strike, and then slashed at Sabretooth with his own claws. 

"Wolverine, we have t' end dis! He's got Rogue!" Gambit yelled.

Wolverine growled and hurled himself into the air. He moved one set of claws towards Sabretooth's face. The clone, grabbed him with both arms to pull him off and Wolverine swung his other hand down into the bigger man's abdomen. Sabretooth screamed and staggered backwards. Wolverine kept swinging himself around, keeping him off balance. Finally, Sabretooth dropped him. Wolverine sent his leg sweeping out, to knock Sabretooth off his feet. Gambit threw the card near the edge of the pit Wolverine himself had just escaped from. The edge crumbled to where Sabretooth stood. With a roar the large mutant fell into the pit, the roar echoing for a long time, before there was silence.

Wolverine snorted as he and Gambit turned to leave -- and stopped short. 

"Going somewhere?"

In frustration, the two men looked at the doorway to see Riptide, Blockbuster, Arclight, and Prism blocking their way out.


	7. Chapter 7

Rogue blinked groggily as her eyes opened. Her head still spun a little from whatever Sinister had used to knock her out. Sinister. Rogue stiffened as she remembered where she was. As her vision came into focus, she saw she was in some kind of laboratory. There was a long table in the middle of the room, covered with bottles of all shapes and sizes. Surgical instruments were on a small tray beside her, complete with syringes. The sight of the cold tools made Rogue's skin crawl. Trying not to look at them, she looked down at the bonds that held her. They were metal, but with Ms. Marvel's super-strength she should still be able to break them. Rogue flexed her muscles and tried to raise her arms, but to no avail. She realized with a start that there was metal around her neck also. She could feel the hum of energy humming through it.

As she tried to figure out what was going on, Rogue noticed a figure moving in the shadows. The clinking of glass and metal, could be heard, as he went about his business. As he moved, Rogue heard the rustle of material against the ground. The figure took a step back and Rogue tried not to gasp. It was Mr. Sinister. Before she could react, he turned around.

Seeing Rogue was conscious, Mr. Sinister smiled, showing rows of sharp white teeth. 

"Ah, you've awakened. Excellent." He walked over to where she was strapped to a vertical slab of metal. "You really are quite fortunate, you know. You will be part of one of my greatest experiment."

"What do you want from me?"

"A very wise position to take, my dear. For now, I simply wish to ask you a few questions."

Rogue reluctantly nodded. There was nothing she could do to escape or fight, so she may as well stall as long as she could. "Go ahead."

"After you've absorbed someone, can you sense their presence in your head?"

"Yeah," Rogue said hesitantly. "It's like havin' their ghosts inside mah head."

Sinister smiled. "Wonderful. Can you sense Carol Danvers?"

Rogue started to nod, but stopped. "No," she said slowly. "Ah used to, but--" She stopped short and glared at Sinister. "What have you done?"

"I removed her manifestation from your mind. I'm quite a gifted telepath, you know." He said, turning around. 

Rogue's heart nearly stopped. Desperately, she looked through her mind, searching. "No," she whispered. Her eyes burned with the beginnings of tears. "You bastard. You took him from me."

Mr. Sinister turned around. There was a syringe in his hand. "I beg your pardon?"

Rogue's voice was hoarse from the effort of not crying. "Logan. You took him out of mah mind." 

"No, you misunderstand me, my dear. I didn't take him from your mind, I took his manifestation from your mind."

"What do you mean?" Marie bit out, miserably.

"There were only two psyches in your mind strong enough for me to actually separate as individual entities. Those two were Ms. Marvel and Wolverine. You still have the their imprints on your mind, they are simply no longer strong enough to have a visible manifestation in your mind. I'm sorry it has upset you so."

Then the tears started to fall. He'd taken the two friends she had in her mind. Cody was so faint, she could barely sense him, without submerging entirely into her own subconscious and Magneto never spoke to her. In that moment she felt more alone than she'd ever felt in her life. She didn't even have the will to be afraid, when Sinister raised the syringe to her arm.

"You'll feel a little pinch, but it will be over shortly, my dear. I merely need a sample of your blood."

"I'll kill you for taking him from me." Rogue whispered. "Ah needed him."

"Such dramatics." He drew a sample of her blood, into the syringe. "Here we are." He turned around and took the needle over to a small machine. After he had finished, he walked back over to Rogue. "And now, I'm afraid I need a slightly more personal sample." Rogue's pulse sped up as he took a pair of scissor off the tray and leaned down to cut a slit in the crotch of her jeans. Putting the scissors back, he reached for another instrument. "Just hold still, my dear, and this will all be over soon."

***

"De Marauders." Gambit ground out. "Wolverine, we don have time t' beat dem all!"

*You won't have to!* came a telepathic shout in their heads. Before any of the Marauders could react, the X-Men raced into the room. 

"Wolverine! Gambit!" The two X-Men immediately dove to the side as Cyclops sprayed the room with his optic blast. The Marauders all scattered except for Prism. He smiled as Cyclops' energy redirected itself at the X-Men. Jean threw up a telekinetic field and the light splayed around the room. 

Storm took to the air, and Jean and Scott separated into their battle formations.

As the fight began in earnest, a figure ran up to Wolverine and Gambit. "Where is my daughter?" Gambit's eyes widened as the woman's form shifted to reveal Mystique. 

Before he could say anything though, Wolverine sniffed the air and ran ahead. Mystique and Gambit followed wordlessly behind him.

***

"You really shouldn't be as upset as you seem, Rogue. After all, this is all in the name of science."

Rogue turned her head to the side. She was humiliated and miserable. Sinister seemed to be playing gynecologist and it brought hot tears to Marie's face that he could touch her so intimately. He'd taken Logan from her mind, and Marie was quickly losing her will to fight. All she wanted in the world was for this horrible man to stop touching her and just leave her alone.

Mr. Sinister put down his tools and took the tray over to wash them off. "Now that we've finished the physical examination, my dear, I think we are ready to commence with the mental testing."

Marie stared at him. The way he stood there so calmly, washing off his miserable instruments. She didn't want to watch anymore. Closing her eyes, Marie retreated into the recesses of her mind. As she drifted down layer by layer, she found herself in the same bar she had retreated to when she'd spoken to Ms. Marvel. Hoping against all odds, Marie looked around for a sign of Logan or Carol. Her heart fell as she realized they were both well and truly gone. 

"Child, I believed you stronger than this."

Marie whipped around at the voice. "Magneto."

The man smiled. "Please, call me Erik. I dare say you know me well enough for that at least." Magneto gestured to a chair across from him at the small table. Marie took a seat, warily.

"Ah guess you can call me Marie.

Erik smiled. "Marie, why do you let him get to you?"

She looked at him like he was insane. "What do you mean? Do you see what he's doing to me? He's been scraping cells from every part of mah body he can, he's taken mah blood, and he's practically raped mah mind. What part of me hasn't he gotten to?"

Erik shook his head. "Child, he plays your emotions. He never took Logan from you. He merely took his manifestation." Marie looked confused and he sighed. "Marie, while Logan was in your head, you must have learned something from him. You saw his memories, can you honestly tell me you've forgotten everything?"

Marie slowly shook her head. Eric smiled kindly. "Marie, just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there. Sometimes it's the things you can't see that help you the most. Information is power, Marie."

"Ah don't think he's gonna tell me anything that's gonna help me get outta here." Even in her mind, her voice cracked.

"Perhaps not, but don't let your cowardice keep you from trying."

Marie glared at him. "If Ah'm such a coward, why are you even trying to help me?"

Erik looked at her for a long moment, before he answered. "We often criticize in others the qualities we despise in ourselves." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he looked tired and resigned. "It should have been me on that machine," he said softly.

For a moment they had a moment of perfect understanding. Strengthened by his words, Marie rose back up into consciousness. 

***

"We're almost there," Wolverine muttered. Mystique and Gambit stayed close behind him as they ran through the passageway. 

"You're farther than you think."

Wolverine stopped and growled as a voice came from ahead. A few moments later, Harpoon, Scalphunter, and Scramble stepped into the hallway in front of them.

"Remy, come back to join us have you?" snickered Harpoon.

Gambit glared at them, his hand reaching into his duster pocket.

Scrambler faked a pout. "Oh, what, no handshake?"

"Shut up, you two," snapped Scalphunter. He turned back to Gambit and the others. "Leave now, and we have nothing to fight--" His words of peace were cut off as Wolverine lunged at him.

"Go get Rogue." Gambit whispered to Mystique. "We'll hold dem back."

Mystique didn't reply. Gambit charged a few cards and threw them at Scrambler and Harpoon. When the two Marauders scattered, Mystique darted past them.

"Stop her!" shouted Scalphunter in exasperation. Wolverine roared and buried his claws in Scalphunter's metal armor. Scalphunter screamed. Whipping back around to face Wolverine, he formed part of his armor into a plasma gun, and fired it into the other man's chest. Wolverine grunted as he was shot backwards. Scalphunter stepped towards him to hit him again, but Gambit's charged cards, exploded around him, taking out his newly formed gun.

"Gambit say, you play nice, or you don play at all!" Gambit smirked. He turned to see Scrambler trying to run after Mystique. He let a few more cards fly into the ceiling, blocking the other mutant's path. Scrambler turned around with a snarl. Harpoon threw one of his namesakes in Gambit's direction, but Gambit managed to dive out of the way. As he stood up, Scrambler tried to sneak up behind him. As Gambit's kinetic sense warned him of Scrambler's presence, Wolverine suddenly flew past him, into the other mutant.

"Wolverine, NO!" Gambit shouted. 

Scrambler smiled, as his mutant powers kicked in. Wolverine howled as he felt his powers being disrupted. Scalphunter had recovered and was forming a new weapon. 

"Merde." Gambit muttered. He threw his cards at Scalphunter, only to be hit by a harpoon. Stunned, Gambit fell to the ground.

Wolverine was on his knees, as Scrambler's power tried to twist his mutant abilities. He felt like his nervous system was trying to rewire itself. Scrambler got cocky, though, and left himself open. Wolverine's claws caught him in the kneecap. He screamed as the adamantium sliced through his bone, severing his leg at the knee. He fell to the ground in shock at the sudden amputation. Wolverine twitched as his healing factor righted itself. Before he could turn around, a slayspear sliced its way into his chest. Roaring in rage, Wolverine ripped the slayspear out of his flesh. As the muscle pieced itself back together, he charged at Harpoon. 

Gambit gritted his teeth, trying to shake off the effects of Harpoon's weapon. He looked up to see Scalphunter forming another gun from his armor. Standing up, Gambit ran over to Scalphunter. The Comanche warrior turned, but Gambit was too close. Grabbing a hold of Scalphunter's body armor, Gambit charged the metal. 

"Stop!" shouted Scalphunter. Desperately, he tried to bring his finished weapon around to fire at the Cajun, but it was too late. A bloodcurdling shriek rang out as his armor exploded, taking most of Scalphunter's flesh with it.

Gambit stood there, breathing heavy. Images of another bloody battle floated through his mind and for a moment he felt the urge to run. Shaking it off, he turned to see Wolverine finishing Harpoon off. The other mutant's head had been severed from his body. Wolverine looked up and met Gambit's gaze. 

Without a word, they both turned and raced in the direction Mystique had gone.

*** 

As Marie became aware of her surroundings, she saw Sinister was tinkering with a strange helmet. It reminded Marie of Cerebro.

"What's that?" she asked coolly.

Mr. Sinister looked up at her. "Ah, I see you've decided to come out of your shell. How very brave of you." He looked back down at the machine. "To answer your question, this is one of my own inventions. It is what allowed me to remove Ms. Marvel and Wolverine from your psyche. In essence, it projects me into your mind, allowing me to see what needs to be done."

"Why are you so interested in what's in mah mind?"

"If I am going to use you in my experiments, I need to know what I'm dealing with. I can't have random manifestations attacking me, now can I?" Mr. Sinister chuckled. "Also, I dislike surprises." 

"What do you want with Remy?"

"Nothing really, anymore. He has served out his debt to me, and the only reason I brought him here was to enlist his help in bringing you to me. As you can deduce, I no longer need his services."

Marie glared at him. "I don't believe you. Remy would never help you."

Mr. Sinister raised his eyebrows. "Again?"

"What?"

"You mean, he would never help me _again._ There is much about the Cajun that you don't know, I see."

Marie tried not to let her emotions show on her face. Mr. Sinister looked amused.

"May I remind you that I am a telepath? I don't need your facial expressions to tell me what you're thinking, I can read your mind if I choose. Though I will admit, it is not easy in your case. Ms. Marvel's Kree heritage seems to have made you quite difficult to psi-scan."

"Ah thought you took her outta mah head?"

"You don't have a very good grasp of science, do you? As I explained already, I removed her as a psychic image. You absorbed all of her, my dear. I took out her substance. You still bear the impressions of her DNA. Just like you still bear the impressions of Magneto."

"So, Ah still have her powers?"

"Yes, but don't get your hopes up. That inhibitor collar around your neck makes that point mute."

"Ah didn't absorb Logan completely. How come you could take him away?"

Mr. Sinister sighed, exasperated. "Of course you absorbed him completely. You were practically dead when you absorbed him. Your body took a copy of his essence to recharge your own."

Marie swallowed as what he was saying, sank in. "Ah almost killed him, didn't Ah?"

"Quite so." Mr. Sinister nodded. "Now, let us get on with it." He took a step towards Marie. A blast of energy hit the wall next to his head. Mr. Sinister whipped around

"Get. Away. From. My. Daughter." ground out Mystique. She leveled her energy rifle at Sinister's head. As Mr. Sinister stepped backwards, Mystique's eyes fell on Rogue, her pants torn open and her stomach bare from where her clothing had been destroyed by Sinister's earlier plasma blast. Her eyes widened. "You bastard." she whispered.

Sinister's face was composed. "Mystique, how nice to see you again. Come to relive old times?" 

Mystique began to pull the trigger. Before she could fire her shot, Wolverine and Gambit burst into the room. Mr. Sinister unconsciously took a step backwards. Wolverine was practically frothing at the mouth, his eyes wild. Gambit stood beside him, red on black eyes glowing demonically, his face set in an expression of rage Covered in the Marauders' blood, the pair made an unholy sight, that even unnerved the sinister scientist. 

Then Mr. Sinister regained his composure. Before anyone could make a move, the door opened in the wall beside Rogue. Harpoon, Scalphunter, and Scrambler, Arclight, Blockbuster, Prism, and Riptide stepped out.

"That's impossible." Wolverine growled.

"No," Mystique corrected him grimly. "This laboratory is full of clones."

Wolverine snarled and Gambit's eyes flashed, but before they could attack, a voice called out from behind them.

"Rogue!"

Cyclops, Jean, and Storm raced into the room. Immediately taking in the situation, they lined up with Wolverine, Gambit, and Mystique.

Mr. Sinister sighed. "All right. Let's all be reasonable. If any of you make a move, Rogue is finished."

Everyone froze. For several moments, the X-Men stood there, helplessly. Gambit's mind raced a mile a minute. Finally, he had an idea. He looked at Sinister, to make sure his attention was elsewhere. Sinister was concentrating on Cyclops, watching for the X-Men's leader to make a move.

_*Jean! Jean y' hear me?*_

*Yes, Gambit. What is it?*

*Kin you block Gambit's thoughts for a minute? Don let Sinister read m' mind*

*All right.*

Gambit groaned, slightly. He flexed his muscles as hard as he could, letting his body shake. As he expected, Mr. Sinister swung his head over to him.

"Problems, Remy?"

Gambit didn't answer. He gritted his teeth and collapsed to the ground. Slowly, his duster began to glow bright magenta.

Mr. Sinister's eyes widened slightly. He moved towards Remy. Immediately Wolverine leapt forward towards Marie. After he slashed her restraints, he carefully cut the collar from her neck. Marie smiled as she felt her powers flare back to life. That smile died, as she saw Gambit.

"Remy!"

Gambit looked up at her and Marie gasped as she saw his eyes glowing like hot coals. Sinister was kneeling beside him. 

Suddenly, Jean's voice sounded in Logan's head. He turned to Marie. 

"Gambit says scram. We gotta get out of here." He and a reluctant Marie ran out of the room. The other X-Men and Mystique backed away and, keeping an eye on the Marauders, followed them out.

The Marauders stood around in bewilderment. Without a direct order from Sinister, they had no reason to attack. None of them fancied sacrificing themselves in a battle with the other mutants, if it wasn't directly ordered. 

The X-Men rushed from the building. As they got outside, Cyclops hit a button on his uniform and the Blackbird's cloaking device shut off. They all ran up, to board. Behind them, an explosion sounded.

"REMY!" screamed Rogue. Logan tried to hold her back, but she wrenched herself from his grip. Without thinking, she took to the air, flying like a speeding bullet back to the building. 

"Rogue!" screamed Mystique.

The building started to collapse, and the X-Men watched in horror as a chunk of the roof fell towards their teammate. Jean reached out with her telekinesis -- only to stop in shock. She and the rest of the team stared in amazement as Rogue swung her fist up to meet the solid stone. With a crunch, she connected and the rock exploded into shards.

"How . . .?" Cyclops murmured.

Minutes later, Rogue flew out of the building, an unconscious Gambit in her arms. She flew into the jet, the rest of the X-Men getting on after her. When she laid Gambit on the sick bed, Jean moved to take care of his injuries. Rogue went into the back and grabbed a pair of jogging pants and a sweatshirt from the cabinet.

As she changed her heart beat frantically against her chest. She'd used Carol's powers in front of her teammates. The jig was up, and it was time for her to come clean. As she stripped her tattered uniform off, Rogue reflected on how much had changed in such a short time. Shaking her head, she pushed down her exhaustion and all the unpleasantness of the day. She slowly walked out to the main section of the jet.

When Gambit was stabilized, and Cyclops was piloting the team safely home, Rogue let herself collapse into a chair beside Mystique. Logan watched her settle down, and slowly walked over to take his seat on her other side. 

The tension in the small area was thick enough to cut with a knife. Rogue could see the twitch in Cyclops' jaw, knowing he was dying to question her. Rogue knew the only reason the questions hadn't started already was Jean's calming hand on his arm.

Rogue sighed and immediately every eye was on her. Even Cyclops turned his head slightly to hear better. Mystique took on e of Rogue's hands in hers and Rogue could feel everyone's gaze shift to the gesture. Beside her she could feel Logan stiffen at people's suspicions of her. Marie looked at him with a small smile to reassure him she was all right. Then she turned to face her teammates.

She began in a small voice. "It was at the battle against the Sentinels, at the home for mutants. Ah was getting the kids on the jet, an Carol just fell outta the sky." Her pulse beat a little quicker as doubt threatened to cease her story. "She was dyin', there was nothin' Ah could do. She begged me ta take her powers, and fight for the kids." She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "So Ah did."

"Rogue, why didn't you tell us?" Jean asked gently.

Rogue hung her head. "Ah'm sorry. Ah was so scared you wouldn't believe me. Ah was afraid you'd think Ah did it on purpose."

"Rogue, don't be ridiculous. We trust you, we would have understood." Cyclops insisted.

Rogue looked up with a harsh laugh. "Really? Do you really think any of you understand me? What Ah go through on a day to day basis? Ah had to constantly cover mahself head to toe for fear of accidentally hurtin' one of you. Every day Ah dealt with your paranoia. Think about it. Can you honestly say that, aside from Logan and Remy, any of you ever gave me a hug, before Ah learned to control mah powers?" 

At that statement, Logan looked at her in surprise. Marie turned to him and he smiled. "Way to go, Marie. I knew you'd do it someday."

Marie smiled back. "Thanks, Logan."

Cyclops cleared his throat. "Speaking of your accomplishment, Rogue, we never did ask you how you finally managed to control your powers." Logan almost growled at him. Cyclops was trying to sound encouraging and curious, but it was obvious that he was wary of what Rogue might have done to get her control.

Rogue looked at the back of Cyclops' head. "Mah Mama helped me."

"Who?"

"I did." Mystique spoke up. 

The sound of a switch being signified that Cyclops had turned on the automatic pilot. He turned around in his seat and even with his visor on, Rogue could practically see his surprise. She waited for him to formulate his question.

"I don't understand. If she's your mother, then why did she help Magneto? He almost killed you."

"It wasn't her." Logan said simply.

Everyone turned to look at him. 

"But we saw her, Logan." Jean protested.

"It wasn't her." Logan said again. He tapped his nose. "The nose knows."

"I believe I can explain this one." Mystique said calmly. She turned to Rogue. "A long time ago, I was with a man named Victor Creed." Logan stiffened at the sound of that name, but Mystique ignored him. "He wanted me to join a team of mutants called the Marauders. I considered it, but I turned down the offer when I found out that the Marauders had massacred a community of mutants called the Morlocks. I managed to leave, but not before I met the leader of the Marauders."

"Mr. Sinister." Marie said knowingly.

Mystique nodded. "Yes. I escaped with my life, but Sinister had managed to extract a . . . sample. Blood to be precise." She frowned. "Had I known what he was going to use it for I would have fought harder to get it back."

"Wait a minute," Cyclops broke in. "You mean to tell us that the Mystique helping Magneto was your clone?"

Mystique nodded. "You may have noticed I am not covered in scales. Nor do I make it a habit to run around without a stitch of clothing." she said dryly. Then she became serious. "When Rogue came to me telling me about the information Gambit confronted her with, I knew someone was manipulating the situation. I decided to do some investigating of my own." She turned back to Rogue. "When you left my apartment, I back to where Sabretooth had taken me the day I was to have joined the Marauders. The place was abandoned, but there were still some computers left. Most of the information was gone, but the name Remy LeBeau kept popping up here and there. I knew Gambit must have had a few run ins with Sinister. When I went to the X-Mansion to find you and warn you, I found that assassin that was lying in the bushes outside. I enlisted the X-Men's help and we revived the assassin. After some convincing, Jean got the location of Sinister's base from his mind. When we got there we found Gambit and Wolverine fighting the Marauders. The rest, I believe, you know."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes, letting all this new information sink in. Finally, Storm spoke up. 

"There's only one thing that I do not understand." She turned to Rogue. "You mentioned that Gambit confronted you with some information. What information did are you talking about?"

"Gambit found mah glove beside Carol's body. He--" She stopped and took a deep breath. "he dug around to find out more about me. Somehow Sinister found out he was researching me and he sent Gambit a bunch of false information about mah mama and all that stuff that happened with Magneto."

"Why didn't Gambit come to us with this information?" Cyclops asked sternly.

"How the Hell should she know, One Eye? Why don't you ask Sleeping Beauty when he wakes up?" Wolverine snapped. He was fed up with the way everyone was plaguing Marie with questions, after all she'd been through.

Cyclops gritted his teeth, but let the subject drop. Turning back to the controls, he switched of the automatic pilot. The rest of the ride was silent as each member went over what they had learned. 

Marie sighed and Mystique per her arm around her, drawing Marie's head to her shoulder. Marie closed her eyes and tried to relax as her mother stroked her hair and whispered soothing words. Beside her Logan watched the others, daring any of them to bother her. She smiled. He was always there to protect her.


	8. Chapter 8

"Rogue? Rogue, please come out. Rogue, I know you've been through a lot, but you have to eat." When she received no answer, Jean sighed and rested her head on the door. When they'd gotten back to the mansion, the Professor had tried to scan Rogue's mind for signs of Carol Danvers. He had been unable to sense the other woman's presence and even with the static caused by the Kree heritage, that was unusual. Rogue had told the Professor that Mr. Sinister had removed Ms. Marvel's manifestation. Jean moaned inwardly. Neither she nor the Professor had ever heard of removing psychic manifestations from someone's mind. Xavier had been quick to say that it was entirely possible that Mr. Sinister had managed to invent such a device, but Jean had seen the look on Rogue's face. It made the telepathic woman very sad to see the hurt in Rogue's eyes. She knew Rogue felt like they didn't believe her, but she didn't know what to say. 

"Rogue, I just want you to know that if you need to talk to someone, my door is always open." Jean waited a moment and when she still received no response, she sighed and slowly walked away. As she made her way down the hall, she ran into Wolverine. 

Wolverine gave her a half hearted once over and she smiled. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." For a moment they both just stood there. "How is she?" he asked finally.

Jean looked sad. "She won't come out, Logan. I can't imagine what she must feel like right now."

"Can't blame her." 

Jean nodded. "I know. She needs you right now, Logan. She always listened to you."

Logan smiled softly and started walking towards Marie's room. "I always knew how to ask."

***

Marie listened to the sound of Jean's receding footsteps as she left. Normally she would feel bad for being so difficult, but at the moment she was having a difficult time feeling anything. 

Mystique had left a while ago, and Marie had been in her room since. Hugging her knees tighter to her chest, Marie sighed as she sat on the window ledge, looking out into the night sky. It seemed like ages ago that she and Kitty and Jubilee had been drunk and giggling in the driveway. Ages since she had stumbled into Gambit's room and seen him sitting there surrounded by those innocent looking papers. Those papers that had turned out to be so much less than innocent. Tears threatened to fill her eyes as Marie began to feel like her budding relationship with Gambit had been not that of two equals, but more like that of a parole officer and a convicted felon.

Suddenly, Marie heard a *snikt* and tree claws sliced through the lock on her door. It swung open to reveal Logan standing in the hallway. He casually retracted his claws and went to sit on the windowsill with Marie, gently closing the door behind him.

He sat down next to her and took her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he sighed. "I owe you a new door."

Though she tried not to, Marie laughed. Logan smiled and she pulled her hands out of his grip to slap him lightly on the shoulder.

"Dammit, Logan. Ah don't wanna laugh right now."

"I know, Marie. But sometimes, if you don't laugh you cry." He looked into her eyes. "And I'd much rather see you laugh."

Despite his words, Marie felt the beginnings of tears burn her eyes. For a second neither one said anything.

"Logan, Ah just wanna apologize." Marie said finally.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What for?"

She shrugged, and a hint of a blush colored her cheeks. "For throwing mahself at you, Ah guess. Not that anyone could really blame me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked warily. 

"Logan, for cryin' out loud, Ah love you. Ah had you in mah head for four years, you're the only constant companion Ah've ever managed to keep for that long. When you came back after bein' gone all that time and still called me 'kid' Ah just wanted to make you see me as a woman." She smiled. "Ah guess maybe Ah should have talked to you about it first."

Logan took a deep breath. "No Marie, you're right. I kinda knew you had a crush on me." Marie winced involuntarily at the use of the word 'crush'. Logan noticed and hurried on. "And I guess I should have had more sense than to keep callin' you 'kid'. I was gone for four years and when I came back, you weren't the fifteen year old girl I left. You're a twenty year old woman and I should have treated you with more respect than actin' like you were still a teenager." He took another deep breath. "And Marie, I'm sorry for running away from you like I did. Both times. I just didn't know what the Hell was goin' on!" She giggled a little at that. "I mean, shit Marie, you were getting to be the best friend I ever had. Then all of a sudden you're acting like a . . . well a . . . shit. Like a woman!" Marie laughed outright at that one. 

"Ah'm so sorry to have shocked you!" She teased.

"That's all right," Logan assured her graciously. He smiled and gave her a hug. "So," he laughed. "What have you been doing since I left? Besides controlling your powers and gaining some new ones. That Cajun better not have been giving you any trouble."

Marie thought about running into Remy when he'd come out of the shower in just a towel. The way his lips had felt on hers. She laughed nervously.

***

Gambit was silent as he quietly made his way out of the Med Bay. He'd just woken up and he felt like he'd just gone one on one with Sabretooth. Still, he couldn't just lie there, no matter how much he hurt. He had to talk to Rogue.

"What are your intentions for my daughter, Cajun?"

Gambit turned slowly. Mystique was leaning against the wall beside the Med Bay door. She'd stayed perfectly still, and he hadn't even noticed her. He sighed. 

"What do y' mean ?"

"You heard me LeBeau. What are your intentions for my daughter?" Mystique took another step forward, forcing Gambit back a step.

Gambit swallowed. Wolverine he could handle, but he was not one to relish having conversations with the mothers of the women he . . . dated. 

"Madame, m' intentions for y' daughter be plenty honorable."

"How honorable? I don't want my daughter getting involved with someone who's going to treat her like a criminal. I-"

"Gambit's fallin' in love wit her." 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth both Gambit and Mystique looked taken aback. 

"In love with her? How could you possibly be in love with her? You only met her weeks ago." Mystique demanded. 

"Non, Madame. Gambit did not say he was in love wit her. I'm fallin' in love wit her."

"Gambit-- I assume that's you?-" Gambit nodded somewhat sheepishly. He never had completely shaken the habit of referring to himself in the third person. "Well, Gambit, forgive me if I find it hard to believe you're falling in love with her. Not that I don't see why a man would fall in love with my daughter. Rogue is a beautiful and intelligent young woman. But you made some pretty ugly accusations about her. Is that your idea of showing your love?"

Gambit remained quiet for a few moments, thinking his answer over carefully before responding. "Madame, Gambit done a lot of 'tings dat he's not proud of. Joinin' de X-Men was my way of repayin' a debt t' society. When I met y' daughter I was taken wit her. Den de stuff wit Ms. Marvel happened an it just seemed like maybe she wasn't what everyone thought she was. Gambit was just bein' careful wit his heart."

"And what do you think now?"

"I 'tink I made a big mistake dat may have cost me a chance at findin' m' _compagnon d'âme."_

Mystique searched his face. Suddenly, she morphed into Rogue. Gambit's eyes widened and for a brief moment pain reflected in his red on black orbs, vanishing almost as quickly as it had arrived. Morphing back into herself, Mystique nodded. 

"Eyes are windows to the soul. You seem to mean what you say, Cajun."

"Gambit mean every word, Madame."

Mystique nodded. "Thief, you may have a chance yet. But if there's one thing that may damage your chances it's your secret."

"My secret?" Gambit's face grew noticeably pale.

"Yes. I haven't said anything so don't look so worried." Gambit visibly relaxed. "I saw some of Sinister's file, Cajun. I know you worked for him."

Gambit opened his mouth, but the look in Mystique's eyes changed what he was going to say. He sighed and nodded. "Oui. A long time ago."

"I trust that has ceased?"

"Oui."

Mystique looked him in the eyes for a long time. "I trust you will take care of my daughter. I would not want to be you if you don't. I'm not the only one you would have to deal with, you know."

The image of an angry Wolverine floated into Gambit's mind and he nodded again.

"Gambit will try t' make her happy, if Rogue allows it."

"There is no 'try' when it comes to my daughter, LeBeau. You will come clean with her and you make her happy or I will personally see that you pay very dearly for it. Rogue likes you, I'm sorry to say, and whether I agree with her choices or not I will never allow you to do my daughter harm. You will fix the damage you've done and make her happy or so help me the next time you see me you won't see me. Understand?"

Gambit nodded wordlessly.

"Good. Now I'm leaving things in your hands."

Gambit watched her turn to leave.

"Aren't y' gonna say goodbye to y' daughter?"

Mystique didn't turn around. "She thinks I left some time ago. Remember what I said."

***

Rogue was getting dressed for bed when she heard a noise outside. Quickly she grabbed a t-shirt and slipped it on. When she turned around she gasped at the sight that greeted her. Gambit stood inside her open widow, his arms hanging at his sides. A dull glow of red watched her out of black eyes. His chest was bare and the white bandages stood out starkly in the moonlight.

"Chere." he choked out.

"Remy." Rogue whispered. She ran over and threw her arms around his neck. She tried to hold him lightly because of his bandages, but he tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer. For a while they stood there holding each other. Then Rogue seemed to remember herself. Remy watched her back away, pain in his eyes.

She looked away from his gaze. "Ah'm glad you're all right, Remy."

"Chere, I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"Straight and to the point, huh?"

Gambit nodded solemnly. "No secrets, Chere. Gambit can't take back de past. Learned that a long time ago. But I want you in m' life, Rogue. If you'll let me."

Rogue drew a shaky breath. "No secrets?"

Gambit nodded slowly. "Ask any'ting, Chere."

Rogue walked over and sat on the bed. Gambit sat next to her. His body was tense as he waited for the inevitable.

"Sinister said you'd helped him before. What did he mean?"

Gambit closed his eyes. When he opened them, Rogue saw resignation in his eyes. "Remember when I told you I swore t' do any'ting to control m' powers?" Rogue nodded. "Dey were out of control. Nothing like dey are now. I was chargin' 'tings witout touchin' dem. One night I blew up a theater. Dat's where Sinister found me. He said he could help me control m' powers. I didn't know de price would be so high."

"What did he make you do?"

A faraway look appeared in the Cajun's demonic eyes. "Steal. Nothing I hadn't done before."

"That's not so horrible." Rogue said carefully. She knew there was more.

"It turned horrible. On 'ting he wanted was the L'Etroile du Tricherie. Only 'ting was . . . it had already been stolen." He swallowed visibly. "Her name was Genevieve Darceneaux."

"You stole it from her."

Pain etched itself across Gambit's face. "Non. I was t' be married soon. I decided t' have a little fun." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I romanced her. I was jus havin' fun. Den one night, I went t' meet her-- t' steal de pendant." His eyes were haunted when he opened them. "Sabretooth. He was holdin' m' brother, Henri, and Genevieve off the edge of a building. De man Genevieve had stolen the pendant from hired him to get it back. Sabretooth demanded de L'Etroile du Tricherie, or he'd drop dem both."

"And then?" Rogue asked breathlessly.

Gambit looked into her eyes. "I gave him de pendant. He dropped dem both anyway." He choked on the last sentence. "I could only save one. Genevieve died."

Rogue watched him closely. His body was practically trembling. Unsure of what to do, she reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder. He collapsed against her, and Rogue's arms slid up to hold him to her.

"Shhhh," she whispered soothingly. 

Gambit held onto her for dear life. His heart felt like it would break as he remembered past wrongs, and the effect they would have on his future. He'd never wanted to think about Genevieve again, but the image of her terrified face still haunted his memory. He'd failed her. He did not want to fail Rogue.

Rogue laughed softly. "This almost reminds me of the day I first met you. Remember when we sat on the roof?"

Gambit nodded, sitting up to face her once again. "Oui, Chere. Gambit not soon forgettin' dat."

"Then Ah guess it mah turn to explain things to you."

Gambit shook his head vehemently. "Non, Chere. I know Sinister sent de information."

"But you don't know why it's not true." Despite Gambit's protests that she didn't owe him an explanation, Rogue told him about her mother's connection with Sinister, and about the clone Sinister had made of her. Then she explained about the battle, and absorbing Ms. Marvel.

"Ah don't know if the others believe me. Ah mean Ah know Logan does, but Ah'm not sure about the others. Sinister removed Carol's manifestation from mah mind, so neither Xavier nor Jean could find her in mah head and ask her."

"Gambit believe you, Chere. Always from now on."

Rogue laughed. "Don't take mah word as law, Remy. Ah'm human too."

Gambit smiled. "Non, Chere, y' mus be more dan dat. Perhaps an angel?"

Rogue leaned forward and hugged him. He hugged her back, before pulling away slightly. Looking into his eyes, Rogue felt her breath hitch in her throat. In a timeless moment, he leaned forward and presses his lips to hers. She sighed into his mouth as she felt his body press against hers. It seemed like the kiss could have lasted forever.

When they finally parted, Rogue's eyes shined with happiness. 

"Well, we may have had a rocky start, but it looks like smooth sailing from her." she murmured. She got a playful sparkle in her eyes. "Now if only you could endear yourself as much to Logan."

Gambit pulled her into another embrace. He rolled his eyes at the thought of what the cranky Canadian would think about his precious Marie dating a Cajun thief.

"Oui, Chere. If only."


	9. Answer to Samm about Mystique

Samm:

I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer you. When Rogue said Mystique was a terrorist, it was true. However, Mystique is not a terrorist as in "lackey for Magneto", like the movie said. Rather, she is a professional terrorist who is her own boss, as she is in the comic books. 

Thank you for your interest and attention to detail!

Jenny


End file.
